County appoints wife of late Sen. Jorge Garcia to seat

Maria Garcia, alongside her late husband Jorge. (Photo provided by family)

The Pima County Board of Supervisors has selected Maria Garcia to replace her late husband, former Democratic leader Jorge Garcia, in the state Senate.

Garcia, a manager at defense contractor Raytheon, will take her oath of office on Nov. 10, a memo from Senate President Bob Burns’ office said.

A short ceremony will also take place that day honoring the late leader.

“I personally appreciated Jorge’s dedication and demeanor as a colleague. I view this occasion as an opportunity to express our gratitude to the Garcia family for sharing Senator Garcia with us and offer condolences for their loss,” Burns said in a statement.

Garcia was among three Tucson residents in District 27 who were nominated Oct. 26 to replace the senator.

Also nominated were Sami Hamed, an aide to Congressman Raul Grijalva, and Bob Gilby, a math teacher.

But the early favorite was Garcia, and several Democrats from the district lobbied for her to get the position.

Sen. Garcia died on Oct. 15. He was diagnosed with a rare illness that affected his heart.

His wife earlier said she believes she would be in the best position to advocate for ideas and policies her husband fought for at the Capitol.

“I know a lot of his ideals,” she told the Arizona Capitol Times. “We’re very much similar in that way. I didn’t get involved in his politics, but we would always talk about everything.”