(The Center Square)— Former state Rep. Shawnna Bolick will return to the Arizona Legislature again as a senator following her unanimous appointment to LD-2 by the Maricopa County Board of Supervisors on Wednesday.
“First, it was an honor to be elected by the precinct committeemen of Legislative District 2 a few weeks ago. If the Maricopa County Board of Supervisors select me this morning to fill the remainder of Senator Steve Kaiser’s term, I will do so honorably,” Bolick told The Center Square on Wednesday morning. “I very much look forward to getting to work for the people as I demonstrated in my previous tenure in the House. I will always be one of the strongest advocates for freedom and liberty.”
Bolick’s appointment comes after the resignation of Republican Sen. Steve Kaiser in June, who cited both personal reasons and a desire to focus on his family as well as his nonprofit organization called the Arizona Prosperity Project, Arizona’s Family reported at the time. His departure ultimately came after an effort to develop bipartisan legislation on affordable housing but failed to garner enough support.
As Supervisor Bill Gates is the county official covering LD-2, he put forth the motion to recommend Bolick, but he and other supervisors criticized the process of having precinct committeemen select three names to give to the board in the event of a vacancy in the Legislature.
“Someday we’re going to pick an axe murderer,” Maricopa Board of Supervisors Chairman Clint Hickman said. In this case, the other two people besides Bolick that were chosen by the Republican committeemen were Deer Valley Unified School District board member Paul Carver and former congressional candidate Josh Barnett.
Bolick previously worked for Texas Gov. Rick Perry, is an advocate for school choice, and is the wife of Arizona Supreme Court Justice Clint Bolick. In 2022, she ran an unsuccessful campaign for Secretary of State, losing to former state Rep. Mark Finchem for the Republican nomination.
