On Monday morning, the Maricopa County Board of Supervisors will hold its second meeting in four days to make legislative appointments, potentially filling another legislative seat.
This time, the board will pick from a list of three candidates to fill the state Senate seat that was vacated last month by former Democratic leader Raquel Terran to focus on running for Congress.
Board elections followed Friday’s 4-1 vote, with Republican Julie Willoughby elected to the House of Representatives from the Southeast Valley’s 13th Legislative District. Rep. Liz Harris was ousted last month for disorderly conduct, including lying to the House Ethics Committee about a controversial witness she invited to testify at a legislative hearing.
Last month, members of the Democratic District Committee for Legislative District 26 in West Phoenix nominated three people to end Terran’s term, which runs until early January 2025.
The candidates are two Democrats who hold House seats in LD26. Congressmen Cesar Aguilar and Flavio Bravo. Also on the shortlist is his Quantá Crews, a real estate appraiser and pastor.
All three were interviewed by supervisor Steve Gallardo, whose jurisdiction includes Legislative District 26. Gallardo himself is a former state legislator.
If the Board chooses either Aguilar or Bravo for the Senate seat, the nomination process will have to be repeated to fill the House vacancy.
Who are Aguilar, Bravo and Crews?
Aguilar and Bravo were elected to seats in the House of Representatives last November, entering their first year in the legislative branch.
Aguilar is the Treasurer of the Arizona Student Association and worked for the Arizona Democratic Party after graduating from Northern Arizona University. He serves on the Commerce Commission and the Municipal Oversight and Election Commission.
Bravo graduated from Loyola University and served as student council president. He also spent a year in Washington DC as a graduate of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus Institute. He serves on the House Government, Military Affairs, and Regulatory Affairs Committee.
Both are from Arizona.
Crews was born in Michigan and moved to Phoenix in 2005 to attend Grand Canyon University. There he received a Bachelor of Arts in History with a minor in Behavioral Science. She is the mother of her three school-age sons, and she ran for a seat on the Phoenix Elementary School District Board in 2020, where she placed fourth in the competition to fill three slots. She is also the pastor of Tanner Chapel AME Church.
Please contact the reporter at maryjo.pitzl@arizonarepublic.com Or follow her on Twitter at 602-228-7566 @maryjpitzl.
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