The House of Representatives has a full complement of lawmakers once again, now that a Tucson Democrat was sworn in to replace a legislator who resigned earlier this month to recover from a stroke.
Nancy Young Wright, who was appointed by the Pima County Board of Supervisors to replace Lena Saradnik, was administered the oath of office Jan. 22 by Supreme Court Chief Justice Ruth McGregor before being welcomed warmly by her new colleagues.
Young Wright said she knows she has big shoes to fill in replacing Saradnik, who, though in her first term, was well-liked in District 26 and at the Capitol.
“Lena is a very intelligent, quick-thinking, warm person — very personable and very popular,” Young Wright said. “I hope to follow in the same example.”
Saradnik suffered a stroke in November, and though she hoped to return to the Capitol this year, she resigned her seat earlier this month to focus her time and effort on rehabilitating.
Young Wright, flanked by her husband and daughter on the House floor for her first day as a lawmaker, told Arizona Capitol Times that being selected to represent her district was “a tremendous honor.” The former board member for the Amphitheater School District said she hopes to approach her new job with the same determination she credits with helping turn around the finances of what had been a struggling school district.
Republican Rep. Pete Hershberger, the Tucson district’s other representative, said he is hopeful he and Young Wright will be able to work together on transportation and state trust land issues that affect the district.
“I hope we find some common ground on some things like that,” he said.
Young Wright also ran for mayor in Oro Valley in 2006, though she lost to incumbent Paul Loomis. She said she will seek election to the Legislature this fall.