PHOENIX — A Tucson lawmaker who suffered a stroke in November resigned Monday from the Legislature.
Just a week before the start of the session, Democratic Rep. Lena Saradnik — who represented an area that includes the Foothills, Marana and Oro Valley — said in a statement that she needs to focus on her recovery.
That leaves it to the Pima County Board of Supervisors to fill what was already expected to be a hotly contested seat in the 2008 election.
Colleagues on both sides of the aisle praised Saradnik's energy during her one year in office, and she herself left the door open for a return to public office.
Saradnik's troubles started in November, when she was hit with a stroke that put her in an East Coast hospital for much of that month. Her family and state Democratic officials initially said the stroke was mild and that she would be returning to work in January.
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But during a visit to the Capitol last month, Saradnik was still regaining her speech and the use of her right arm. In an interview with the Star at that time, Saradnik said she had every intention of returning to work, even if it meant resting in her office during the day.
But state Rep. Phil Lopes, a fellow Tucson Democrat and minority leader of the House, said Monday that Saradnik has not yet fully gotten back her stamina.
"That was her hope," he said.
Saradnik, 60 and retired, did not return calls Monday, and her office at the Capitol had already been cleared out.
The turn of events brings an end — at least for now — to the budding political career of an ambitious local politician who had prepped for her next election at the Yale University Women's Campaign School.
"It is with a very heavy heart that I decided to resign," she said in her statement.
Saradnik was elected in 2006 in Republican-leaning Legislative District 26. Initially dismissed by the GOP, she ended up beating her Republican opponent by more than 4,000 votes.
"Lena has an incredible work ethic," Lopes said. "She was always willing to take on more work."
Republican House Speaker Jim Weiers said in a statement, "We will miss Lena and the energy she brought to her work for Tucson and the entire state."
Now the focus will be on filling her seat.
Democratic precinct committeemen from Saradnik's home district will select three Democratic nominees to replace her at their regularly scheduled meeting next Tuesday — a day after the start of the session.
Those three names will be forwarded to the Pima County Board of Supervisors, which will then appoint one of the three nominees to fill the remainder of her two-year term.
