Maricopa County Supervisor Jack Sellers has scheduled interviews with the three nominees to fill the vacancy in Legislative District 13. The vacancy was created with the expulsion of former State Rep. Liz Harris for lying and disorderly conduct.
Sellers’ supervisory district encompasses LD13, and tradition dictates that his office conducts the interviews and background checks of the nominees before making his recommendation to the full board of supervisors.
The three nominees were chosen by a vote of the Republican precinct committeemen of LD13 earlier this month.
The nominees include Harris, Julie Willoughby, and Harris’ close associate Steve Steele, who is also an associate of Staci Burke, a controversial character who has made several unfounded claims about elected officials and election-related events. Willoughby has run for the Legislature on several occasions and narrowly lost to Harris in last November’s election.
Most political observers expect Willoughby to be chosen since Harris would presumably be “a non-starter” for Supervisors looking to move on from the drama surrounding Harris, and Steele is a close ally of Harris. “Willoughby is the safe choice because she’s a solid conservative, she almost won the last time, and she’d be a good candidate for re-election in 2024,” said one Republican who was watching the proceeding.
Harris, a real estate agent who is facing a lawsuit from a former client for fraud, has been a controversial figure since before she took her seat in the Legislature. In fact, after her election, Harris took a public stance that she would vote No on every bill until the 2022 election was redone, putting the Republican majority on ice since the GOP’s one-vote margin in the House was lost if Harris voted No on each bill.
Once in the Legislature, Harris flip-flopped on that promise, but did began threatening to withhold votes on conservative bills, including the budget, if she did not get items she wanted, including a hearing on “election integrity.”
Leadership acquiesced, however Harris invited the girlfriend of a controversial attorney to spread bizarre stories, including claims that Governor Hobbs, members of the Legislature, and even the Church of Latter Day Saints were working with Mexican cartels in a fraud scheme.
After the House Ethics Committee found Harris “damaged the integrity of the institution,” the whole House voted on the motion to expel Harris. The vote to expel passed with broad bipartisan support.
Republicans called it a sad but necessary action in light of the fact that Harris knowingly invited false testimony, and then lied to the Ethics Committee during its investigation.
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