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As legislators debated and passed a bill Thursday to crack down on employers who knowingly hire illegal immigrants, they apparently didn't waste any time testing the bill out on themselves.

The same day the bill received bipartisan support, a House janitor was fired for admitting he is an illegal immigrant.

The employee was hired in November, and at the time, a Social Security verification was completed, according to House majority spokesman Barrett Marson.

But on March 8, the Department of Administration notified House staffers that the man's name and Social Security records didn't match. Asked to provide further documentation, the employee eventually admitted he was in the country illegally.

In a statement, Speaker of the House Jim Weiers pumped some helium into the "unfortunate incident," calling it proof the verification program works.

"We did not knowingly hire the illegal alien and he no longer works for the House," Weiers said.

The bill still needs to pass the Senate and win the governor's signature before becoming law.

In the meantime, state lawmakers are looking for a capable U.S. citizen to clean their toilets.

It's a sign of the times. A year ago, Democrats were the minority in Congress, and our two Democratic members from Arizona, Raúl Grijalva and Ed Pastor, wielded less power than many of their GOP counterparts.

Now, Pastor and Grijalva are, respectively, the two most powerful members of Arizona's congressional delegation, according to a new listing by congress.org.

The Web site's formula takes into account legislative activity, leadership roles and each member's ability to get things done.

Rep. Gabrielle Giffords is Arizona's third-most-powerful member — and the 17th-most-powerful freshman in the House.

Sen. John McCain is listed as the 18th-most-powerful person in his chamber, and the second-most-powerful Republican. Sen. Jon Kyl came in at No. 31.

With Democratic City Councilman Steve Leal announcing this week he's out of the race for mayor of Tucson, that leaves Republican Bob Walkup still facing no competition in his quest for a third term.

There was some chatter coasting around the past few weeks about the potential of Tucson Unified School District Superintendent Roger Pfeuffer jumping into the race as a Democrat. As it turns out, Pfeuffer hasn't been a Democrat since 2002, though he could easily take care of that.

His larger liability could be the run of unflattering attention the school district has received of late. And Pfeuffer himself laughed off the idea of running in an interview this week.

A more likely Democratic candidate: ecologist Daniel Patterson, who announced he's considering a run. Is that anything like forming a presidential exploratory committee?

Here's the latest in the looming wrangle for City Council:

● In the Ward 1 race, two Democratic candidates, Ken Green, "A" Mountain Neighborhood Association president, and Regina Romero, a former aide to Ward 3 Councilwoman Karin Uhlich, have filed their statements of organization.

● Over in Ward 2, Clarence Boykins has withdrawn his name, leaving Rodney Glassman as the sole Democrat.