Court documents from the divorce of California Democratic Assemblyman Joaquin Arambula paint a picture of a lawmaker whose wife says she spent years hiding his substance abuse from everyone around them while he served in public office.
Elizabeth Arambula filed for divorce in January and submitted a lengthy appeal for child custody of the couple's three children, ages 11, 14, and 15. The filing contains detailed allegations involving alcohol, marijuana, and gaming that, if even partially true, raise serious questions about how a sitting legislator functioned in office.
Elizabeth Arambula's account is blunt, the New York Post reported. In court filings, she laid out what she described as years of covering for her husband:
For years, I have covered for Respondent's struggles with alcohol, marijuana, and gaming, concealing them from our children, family, friends, and his professional circle.
She didn't stop at generalities. Her description of a routine day for the assemblyman is the kind of detail that sticks:
On a typical day, he spent much of his time using his THC pen, drinking whiskey, playing games on his iPad, and taking a few meetings scattered throughout.
She claims she has proof to support her allegations. The filings also state that on many days she drove him to work because he was under the influence, and that a government car sometimes drove him back home.
Think about that for a moment. A state assemblyman, allegedly impaired on a regular basis, being ferried to and from official duties. If these allegations hold up, taxpayers were subsidizing the logistics of a lawmaker's dysfunction.
Arambula is not staying silent. He acknowledged a problem exists, though he disputes the scope of his wife's claims. He told reporters he voluntarily sought treatment:
I voluntarily entered into and successfully completed a 30-day rehab program because I recognized I had a problem and chose to improve my life and be a better father to our children.
That program cost approximately $30,000. According to Arambula, while he was in rehabilitation, his wife moved out of their home and filed for divorce, ending their 15-year marriage. He says she has refused to allow him to see their children unless certain demands are met.
He framed himself as a father fighting for his rights:
I have trust in our court system to reach a fair and impartial resolution based on the facts and not on unreasonable demands, unwarranted fears, and false accusations.
He also said he is prepared to demonstrate his continued sobriety to the court and his willingness to support his family. The custody battle, in other words, is far from over.
This is not Arambula's first collision with personal scandal. In 2018, he was arrested for child abuse for spanking his then-seven-year-old daughter, a case that resulted in a report being filed with Child Protective Services. He was later found not guilty.
Arambula, described as the first Latino physician elected to the Fresno Assembly, is currently running to be a councilmember on Fresno City Council. These revelations land at the worst possible time for that campaign, though one suspects the timing is not accidental from a legal strategy standpoint.
Elizabeth Arambula is seeking spousal support for the couple's three children. The divorce filing doubles as a political grenade, whether or not that was its primary intent.
What deserves scrutiny here extends beyond one family's private implosion. If Elizabeth Arambula's claims are accurate, an elected official spent years showing up to the legislature impaired. Colleagues saw him. Staff interacted with him. A government vehicle apparently drove him home on occasion. Nobody flagged it. Nobody intervened publicly.
This is the machinery of enabling that operates in state capitols across the country. It is bipartisan in nature but rarely confronted until a spouse with nothing left to lose puts it in a court filing. The political class protects its own until the cost of protection exceeds the cost of exposure.
Arambula asked for the public's understanding:
This is a very trying time for my family and me, and I ask for the public's understanding.
Understanding is reasonable. But understanding is not the same as a pass. The voters of Fresno, the ones he's now asking to trust him with a city council seat, deserve to know whether the man seeking their confidence was governing under the influence for years. Three children are caught in the middle of this. They didn't choose any of it.
Rehab is commendable. Accountability is mandatory. The court will sort out custody. Fresno voters will sort out the rest.