Ann Kirkpatrick said the decision to step down from the Legislature was not an easy one.

A Democrat state representative resigned from her legislative office after announcing she was running for the congressional seat currently held by Republican Rick Renzi.
The July 24 announcement was not entirely a surprise, as Rep. Ann Kirkpatrick, D-2, had filed an exploratory committee for the race in April. Still, she said, the decision to step down from the Legislature was not an easy one.
“It was a really tough decision,” she said. “I really have enjoyed working with my legislative colleagues.”
In the written statement announcing her resignation, Kirkpatrick indirectly cited the incumbent’s recent legal troubles as the reason for her candidacy. Renzi, a three-term representative, is under investigation for sponsoring legislation that would have benefited his former business partner.
Renzi’s term expires in 2008. He has not yet announced if he will seek re-election.
Kirkpatrick is the third Democrat to enter the race; environmental lawyer Howard Shanker and former newscaster Mary Kim Titla have already announced their candidacies.
Kirkpatrick was first elected to the Legislature in 2004 and was re-elected last year. Prior to being a legislator, she served as Coconino County’s first female deputy county attorney and city attorney for the city of Sedona.
Arizona law requires an elected official to resign their position if they publicly declare an intention to seek another elected office before the final year of their term. Kirkpatrick’s legislative term was through 2008, so she was required to resign her seat.
Others interested
The Flagstaff lawmaker’s resignation reignited speculation about other legislators who might also choose to enter the race. When the investigation into Renzi was announced in April, Rep. Bill Konopnicki, R-5, and Sen. Tom O’Halleran, R-1, both expressed an interest in running to replace Renzi. Neither, though, formed an exploratory committee.
Konopnicki says he is still interested in running for Congress, but has no immediate plans to resign from the Legislature. He also said he will not decide if he will seek re-election to the state House or make a bid for the Congressional seat until he knows what Renzi intends to do.
“I am not going to do anything until Congressman Renzi says…one way or the other what he’s going to do,” he said.
Like Konopnicki, O’Halleran said he is still considering running, but said he will defer to Renzi and let the congressman run for re-election if he chooses. However, if Renzi announces he won’t seek re-election, O’Halleran said he would have to consider resigning to run
But such a decision would not be easy, O’Halleran said, because there are still legislative priorities that have yet to be addressed.
“That would be a very tough call for me,” he said. “It’s different for Ann because she’s in the minority [party] and isn’t a committee chair.”
FYI
The Coconino County Board of Supervisors will choose a replacement for Kirkpatrick’s legislative seat from three candidates nominated by Coconino County’s Democrat elected precinct committeemen from Legislative District 2. The precinct committeemen are scheduled to meet Aug. 2 to nominate three replacements. Those names will then be forwarded to the Board of Supervisors.
Statute does not require the Board of Supervisors to select the new representative in any specified time.