Green Valley Democrat Andrea Dalessandro was appointed to the Arizona State Senate on Tuesday morning, filling a vacancy left by former lawmaker Linda Lopez.

Sen. Linda Lopez has submitted her resignation from the state Senate, effective Jan. 13, the first day of the 2014 legislative session.

After initially denying rumors that she planned to resign from the Arizona State Senate, Sen. Linda Lopez finally conceded that she’ll leave her post in January. But rather than resign immediately, the Tucson Democrat has drawn criticism from her colleagues for staying at the Legislature to gain another year of service in order to pad her retirement benefits.

Saying her new job is too demanding, state Sen. Linda Lopez said Thursday she will resign from the Legislature no later than next month.

On the surface, all appeared well among Democrats in the Senate. The 13-member minority caucus had a common cause to unite around in Medicaid expansion during the 2013 legislative session and was able to form a new majority in the Senate chamber by joining forces with a few breakaway Republican lawmakers.

Sen. Linda Lopez was hired by the Easter Seals Blake Foundation in Tucson, the organization announced Oct. 7. The Tucson Democrat began working as the director of children and family services on Nov. 4, a new job that prompted her to step down from her role as assistant minority leader in the Senate on Oct. 21.

In a dramatic turn of events, Senate Minority Leader Landrum Taylor was ousted as minority leader by her party-mates following a closed-door meeting in the Senate today.

Sen. Linda Lopez, D-Tucson, has stepped down as assistant minority leader to focus on a new job in Tucson.

The award for best legislative batting average for the session — the calculation of bills introduced versus bills signed into law — goes to Rep. David Livingston, a freshman Republican lawmaker from Peoria who has been vocally critical of the governor.

The Arizona Senate is no easy place to be in the minority. Few bills sponsored by Democrats are ever heard in committees, let alone the Senate floor, so it’s rare for a Democratic senator to have a bill approved by the bulk of the chamber. It’s even rarer for a Democratic measure also to be approved by the House and reach the governor’s desk.