After being violently ill the prior evening, a Safford Republican managed to trek to the Capitol to cast the deciding vote on the House budget before driving himself to a Valley hospital for treatment.
When House leaders, family and friends were unable to contact Rep. Bill Konopnicki, R-5, after he failed to show up for the May 22 vote of the general appropriations bill, a trio of lawmakers drove to the Mesa condominium he stays in during session. They knocked on the door for about 30 minutes, but there was no response, so they called the police.
When Mesa police officers arrived, they broke down the door to see if Konopnicki was okay.
The lawmaker had complained of feeling ill the day before, but dismissed his headache and other symptoms as stress from his legislative duties. At 3 a.m., he says he began vomiting and was not able to fall asleep until about 8:30 a.m. after taking some sleeping aids. He says he was “dead to the world” and didn’t hear his phone ringing or his coworkers banging on his door.
“Somebody came in and touched my foot and I looked up and it was a policeman,” Konopnicki said. “I’ve got to tell you, it scared the hell out of me.”
After driving to the Capitol and voting on H2781, he promptly left and drove himself to a nearby hospital for treatment. A blood test revealed the illness was likely caused by his gallbladder.
“At my age, if I kept it this long, I thought I’d get to keep it forever,” the 62-year-old lawmaker joked.
He was scheduled to meet with his family physician over the Memorial Day weekend.
Democrats: Was he forced to vote?
Though some Democrats privately questioned if Republican leaders forced Konopnicki to come to the Capitol to vote, House Majority Leader Tom Boone, R-4, said the decision was Konopnicki’s.
“There was no arm-twisting whatsoever,” he said. “He felt he had an obligation to come in.
“It’s a testament to his desire to fulfill his responsibilities as a legislator.”
Konopnicki says he was just honoring his promise to support the budget.
“I knew they needed my vote,” he said.
The bill, H2781, was being voted on reconsideration after failing its initial vote May 15. If it was not voted on that day, Republicans would not have been able to resurrect it again.