After taking the oath of office and introducing her family to members of the House of Representatives, District 7 Republican Party Chairwoman Nancy Barto cast her first vote as a state legislator on Feb. 6.

The new representative was selected by the Maricopa County Board of Supervisors to fill the House vacancy left by ousted legislator David Burnell Smith on Feb. 3.

Ms. Barto was one of three possible candidates to replace Mr. Smith, who served his last day in office on Jan. 26 after the Arizona Supreme Court upheld an order that he leave office for violating state campaign financing laws.

Howard Sprague, a former House candidate in 1996, and Howard Levine, also were recommended by the district’s precinct committee on Jan. 31.

Although all three candidates were qualified, Ms. Barto’s role and experience from serving as chairwoman for District 7 Republicans helped the Board of Supervisors decide in her favor, said Supervisor Andrew Kunasek.

“In her capacity as district chair, she’s up on a lot of the legislative issues so she could hit the ground running,” he said. “She’s not going to have a learning curve.”

Ms. Barto is the second replacement legislator this session, following Democrat Paula Aboud, who became a state senator after Gabrielle Giffords, D-28, resigned to pursue a seat in the U.S. House.

She attributed her new position as the result of an “unfortunate occurrence” on the House floor, referring to Mr. Smith’s forced departure, before receiving her committee assignments and casting a yes vote for H2081, a bill to place restrictions on lending solicitations.

In addition to Mr. Smith’s floor seat, Ms. Barto also inherited his committee assignments on K-12 Education, Federal Mandates and Property Rights, and Judiciary, where she will serve as vice-chairman.