The Maricopa County Board of Supervisors selected Julie Willoughby, an emergency room trauma nurse, to fill the vacant Legislative District 13 House seat formerly occupied by ousted State Representative Liz Harris (R-Chandler). The vote was 4-1, with the lone Democrat, Steve Gallardo, dissenting. The law required Republican precinct committeemen in the district to choose three candidates to send to the supervisors. The other two candidates they selected were Harris, who received the most support from the PCs, and Steven Steele, a retired natural-gas worker and motorcycle operator trainer.
Arizona Corporation Commissioner Jim O’Connor, who led an effort opposing voting machine tabulators last election, praised the choice. “I believe Julie to be a solid conservative voice for her district,” he told The Arizona Sun Times.
On Wednesday, Maricopa County Vice Chair Jack Sellers (R) interviewed the nominees privately, asking them about Prop 400, homeless, water, and elections. A source told The Washington Post that Willoughby (pictured above) aligned the most with the board’s priorities. The board also scrutinized their social media posts. Sellers motioned to appoint Willoughby to the vacant LD 13 House seat. Because most of LD 13 is in Sellers’ district, it was tradition for him to decide who to appoint.
Willoughby described herself on her campaign website as “a Christian, wife, mother, Republican, emergency room trauma nurse.” She donated time to her church and stated, “With a staunch commitment to my faith, my family and community I can make a positive impact on the future.” She has a section on her website called Voter Integrity – Honest Elections, which states, “Having access to honest and fair elections is the only way we can entrust our votes count. As voters we should be able to know that our votes were counted and counted correctly. Being able to ensure our elections are not being tampered with or manipulated is of the utmost importance.” She included a link to the independent Maricopa County ballot audit results.
Other issues she takes a stand on include opposing mandates, especially in regard to COVID-19, supporting educational competition, parental rights, and opposing abortion. She received several endorsements from Kari Lake and the Arizona Free Enterprise Club.
Willoughby ran for the seat along with Harris as a team but lost the election by 275 votes; State Representative Jennifer Pawlik (D-Chandler) retained the other seat.
Gallardo said he wouldn’t vote for any candidates since they hadn’t made any statements condemning the claims of election fraud in the last couple of elections. He issued a questionnaire to the candidates asking them whether they believed Joe Biden “legitimately” won the presidential election, whether Katie Hobbs won the gubernatorial election, whether the 2020 and 2022 elections were “safe, accurate, and secure,” and whether vote by mail is “safe and secure.”
State Representative Alex Kolodin (R-Scottsdale) tweeted the questionnaire on Wednesday, saying, “Seriously guys? Your litmus test for legislative appointees is will they stroke our egos?”
According to The Arizona Republic, Willoughby told reporters after the swearing-in that she was not an “election denier” but would not say that Biden won the 2020 election legitimately. “This is a complicated case,” she said. “I really would like to move forward. If there’s fraud, if there’s issues, let’s look at them, let’s tackle them together in a real way where we can make a difference and we can move forward.”
Willoughby received the second most votes from the PCs after Harris. Steele nominated Harris for the position and participated in a canvassing operation with her after the 2020 election.
Republican lawmakers criticized the board for waiting a considerable length of time to appoint a replacement. The three nominees were chosen on April 19. State Senator J.D. Mesnard (R-Chandler), who represents the district, said that replacing vacant legislative seats usually takes about 8.76 days on average. After Harris was removed, Republicans lost their one-vote majority in the House, making most legislation difficult to pass.
The board, which consists of election fraud deniers, was expected not to choose Harris, a champion of election integrity who has been critical of the board over its handling of elections. Harris was expelled from the House in a 46-13 vote after she allowed a witness to testify that fellow legislators had fraudulently executed deeds. House Rule 1 prohibits legislators from impugning each other. Harris tweeted a video Friday showing support from some of the Republican base, including the Maricopa County Republican Committee, showing support for her. Harris can run for election again next year.
LD 13 covers a large portion of Chandler and some of Gilbert. The board still needs to replace a vacant seat in the State Senate, which was held by former State Senator Raquel Terán (D-Phoenix), who resigned last month to run for Congress.
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Rachel Alexander is a reporter at The Arizona Sun Times and The Star News Network. Follow Rachel on Twitter. Email tips to [email protected].
Photo “Julie Willoughby” by Julie Willoughby. Background Photo “Maricopa County Courthouse” by Tony the Marine. CC BY-SA 3.0.
Liz Harris. I can’t help but wonder if those she allowed to “impugn” some of the legislatures in the room were ever proven false. To date, I have never seen it go any further than a group of people who were angry about the allegations being brought forth during a session. No one is even talking about the possible legitimacy of the claims. Instead, they chose to punish the person that allowed for these claims to be brought forward. That was Liz Harris. If the allegations are false, that is fine, let’s bring it to light instead of burying it and trying to move on as quickly as possible. it sure gives the look of a cover-up.
She sounds like an excellent appointment. The state will benefit having her, with her values and medical training, in the legislature.