Ross D. Franklin/AP
- Randy Kaufman was charged with public sexual indecency after police alleged he was masturbating.
- Kaufman is a candidate for the Maricopa County Community College District's governing board.
- He was backed by several Republican groups and regularly railed against Democrats.
A Republican-backed Arizona college board district candidate, who once said he wanted to protect children from "the progressive left" in a now-deleted social media post, was charged with public sexual indecency after police alleged he was masturbating less than 200 feet away from a preschool.
Randy Kaufman, a candidate for the Maricopa County Community College District's governing board, was charged after he was confronted by a campus police officer on October 4, according to a police report obtained by local news station KPNX. He could face an additional felony charge due to his proximity to the school.
Kaufman did not respond to a request for comment from Insider.
According to the report, the incident occurred around 4:30 p.m. local time at one of the colleges operated by the district in which Kaufman was seeking an elected position.
A campus officer wrote in the report that he first saw Kaufman in the front driver's seat of a truck with "his pants down mid-thigh and was exposed showing his fully erect nude penis."
The report alleged that Kaufman "was manipulating his genitals in a masturbatory manor" and was "engrossed in his activity and did not see" the officer.
The report also noted that there was a person riding a bicycle just eight feet away from the truck, and "several preschool age children" outdoors in the playground of the Wirtzels Preschool and Child Care Center, just south of the college campus.
When confronted by the officer, Kaufman said "I'm sorry. I fucked up. I'm really stressed."
Kaufman said he was watching "interracial porn" on his phone and claimed he did not notice the preschool until the officer asked him to look around, the report stated.
"Don't you see how alarming that is? That there are children nearby, people passing on bikes and in cars where they can look and see what you are doing," the officer said.
On Tuesday, Kaufman told a KTVK local news outlet in a statement that he would be suspending his campaign.
However, an official for the Maricopa County Recorder's Office told the outlet that Kaufman did not officially withdraw his name as of Tuesday night. And since his name was printed on early ballots that have already been distributed, votes for Kaufman will still be counted until he officially withdraws.
The candidate previously told The Arizona Republic that he was a "fiscal conservative" who believed in "small government, low taxes, and that the people know what's best for themselves."
In a now-deleted post, according to HuffPost, Kaufman wrote about his desire to keep "our children protected [from] the progressive left."
Kaufman's campaign Facebook page also previously showed that he was supported by local Republican groups, including the Republican Liberty Caucus of Arizona. Ben Beckhart, vice chair of the group, told Insider that the RLC rescinded its endorsement for Kaufman on Tuesday.
Another organization, The Republican Party of Arizona, told local news station KNXV in a statement: "Every American citizen has the right to fair treatment throughout the judicial system. The Republican Party of Arizona respects due process and the Consitution. We support Mr. Kaufman's decision to suspend his campaign."
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