The Maricopa County Board of Supervisors appointed a Democrat to fill a vacancy in the House of Representatives who the board appointed in 2021 for an earlier vacancy.

The board appointed Sarah Liguori to fill a vacancy in Legislative District 5, which is missing both representatives in the House after former Reps. Jennifer Longdon and Amish Shah resigned in January.

Liguori, a commercial real estate firm manager, previously served in the House after she was appointed in 2021 to replace former state Rep. Aaron Lieberman.

“I am honored and eager to return to the Legislature and to the work I love,” Liguori said in a House Democrats news release. “I’m looking forward to being back with my Democratic caucus as we push for solutions that will improve the lives of those who live in our great state.”

LD5 precinct committee members submitted Liguori as a nominee for Longdon’s vacancy on Feb. 5 along with two other candidates as required by state law; former Democratic secretary of state candidate Mark Robert Gordon and state Democratic Party Vice Chair Briana Westbrook.

County Supervisor Bill Gates said he spoke to all three nominees on Feb. 6. He nominated Liguori to the seat since LD5 is in his district of Maricopa County.

“I was impressed by all three candidates, but Sarah Liguori is really prepared to hit the ground running,” Gates said. She’s served in the Legislature before. She’s very knowledgeable about the issues the Legislature is facing right now.

The appointment comes much faster than previous Maricopa County legislative appointments. The board has typically taken about a month after receiving nominations to vet candidates, but this appointment came within two days of the precinct committee meeting.

Supervisor Steve Gallardo said it was important for the board to appoint at least one seat in LD5 on an expedited schedule because the Legislature is in session and he wanted to ensure LD5 has a vote on legislation.

The appointment also guarantees that the Board of Supervisors will have three candidates for the district’s second vacancy.

LD5 Democrats were unable to send three candidates to the board on Feb. 5 for Shah’s seat because they couldn’t get a majority vote on the final nominee, but Liguori would have been one of the candidates for Shah’s seat also had they succeeded.

Gordon also got a majority threshold of votes Feb. 5 to be a nominee for Shah’s seat. The final spot was between Westbrook and Phoenix Union School Board Member Aaron Marquez.

LD5 Democrats will try again to nominate three candidates for Shah’s seat. Liguori won’t be eligible for the vote.

House Democrats haven’t yet announced when Liguori’s swearing-in ceremony will be.

Liguori, Westbrook and Marquez all ran in the 2022 Democratic primary election for the state House nomination in the district. All three fell short to Longdon and Shah and are running for election this year.

On Feb. 5, Democratic precinct committee members from Legislative District 22 will vote for three nominees for a House vacancy in their district after former Rep. Leezah Sun resigned on Jan. 31. Sun quit after a House ethics investigation concluded she engaged in disorderly behavior and threatened an employee with the city of Tolleson.