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.
Read the rest of the article at The Arizona Sun Times