Marcelino Quiñonez picked to fill final Arizona Legislature vacancy

PHOENIX — Marcelino Quiñonez, a Phoenix educator and non-profit leader, was appointed to the vacant Arizona House of Representatives seat for Legislative District 27 on Wednesday.

Quiñonez replaces Democrat Diego Rodriguez, who resigned last month because he is running for state attorney general in 2022. Quiñonez was scheduled to be sworn in Thursday morning.

He was the last of 11 legislative replacements selected by county boards since the end of the last session, nine in the House and two in the Senate, following a wave of resignations and the death of Rep. Frank Pratt.

The Maricopa County Board of Supervisors picked Quiñonez out of three candidates submitted by the LD 27 precinct committeemen. Under state law, the potential replacements had to be from the same party as Rodriguez and live in the district.

“My commitment is to continue to serve within this new leadership role, represent the district with integrity and give a voice to the constituents of LD 27,” Quiñonez said in a statement.

“I’m looking forward to learning from other legislative leaders and the people of LD 27.”

Quiñonez is the director of educational outreach and partnerships at Arizona State University and a St. Vincent de Paul Arizona board member.

The new lawmaker once co-wrote a play with Grant Woods, the late former Republican state attorney general who switched parties in 2018.

@GrantWoods was an important person and somehow made you feel just as important.

The first draft of the flyer had his name before all of ours for obvious reasons, he was Grant Woods. We sent it to him for review and he only had one change, “Put Marcelino’s name first.” pic.twitter.com/4zdUzjCZnT

— Marcelino Quiñonez (@Marcelino4AZ) October 24, 2021

LD 27 includes most of downtown Phoenix and spans south to the Pinal County line and west to 115th Avenue. It is part of county district 5, which is represented by Supervisor Steve Gallardo, the board’s only Democrat.

“This wasn’t an easy decision, but I am confident that Marcelino will work hard to serve his district and will be a great voice for his constituents,” Gallardo said in a press release.

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