Maricopa County board appoints water advocate to fill state House vacancy

PHOENIX — The Maricopa County Board of Supervisors appointed Cody Reim, a small business owner and water-rights advocate, to fill the vacant Arizona House seat in Legislative District 3.

Reim, a political newcomer from Rio Verde Foothills, replaces Republican Joseph Chaplik in the northeast Maricopa County district. He will serve through the current term. The seat is on the Nov. 3 ballot.

Board members selected Reim from three candidates submitted by District 3 Republican precinct committeemen, as required by state law. Appointees must live in the district and belong to the same party as the previous officeholder. The other nominees were Michelle Ugenti-Rita and George Khalaf.

“Cody Reim is a principled leader who has proven he will stand up and fight for his community,” Supervisor Thomas Galvin said in a news release. “He’s a bridge builder and consensus maker.”

Reim emerged as a leading voice during the yearslong fight to secure a reliable water source for Rio Verde Foothills, an unincorporated community that lost access to Scottsdale’s water system in 2023. He now joins the Legislature as Arizona continues negotiations over Colorado River allocations.

Legislative District 3 includes portions of Anthem, Cave Creek, Fountain Hills, New River, Scottsdale and the Fort McDowell Yavapai Nation.

Related

Rep. Joseph Chaplik resigning from Arizona Legislature to focus on congressional runAZ Political Podcast: Pollster Paul Bentz digs into latest numbers for Hobbs-Biggs, other findingsArizona Republican Kimberly Yee files formal campaign complaint against school chief foeElection denial, voter ID dominate combative Arizona secretary of state debateSine Kerr ties Katie Hobbs’ veto record to pay-for-play probeMaricopa County Attorney’s Office identifies potential non-citizens in voter citizenship probe