Nancy Young Wright shook up Amphi's board.

More Photos (1):

Related articles:

Young Wright will replace Saradnik in state House Young Wright to fill Dist. 26 House seat

Other articles by Daniel Scarpinato:

Bush visit cost us $99K, and Dems want Bee to pay Giffords touts her support of veterans in TV spot Political Notebook by Daniel Scarpinato : Dems strive to paint McCain as $5M man Candidate's wife keeps family humming Political Notebook by Daniel Scarpinato : Giffords floated as governor candidate Pivotal District 8 contest heats up National Republicans pro-Bee; congressional leader in Tucson visit It's 'cruel hoax' to imply new drilling will reduce gas prices, Giffords says Political Notebook by Daniel Scarpinato : Napolitano staff shuffle includes 2 Tucsonans Immigration on voters' back burner

Trades/Construction
Smyth Steel
Welders General
First Christian Church
Church Caretaker Trades/Construction
SINCLAIR SYSTEMS
FIELD SERVICE TECHNICIAN Production and Manufacturing
Industrial Tool, Die & Eng
CNC LATHE Restaurants and Clubs
Shogun Japanese Restaurant
Chef Construction
Pima County Fair
General Maintenance General
TUCSON TRUCK TERMINAL
CUSTODIAN

PHOENIX — When Nancy Young Wright first ran for the Amphitheater Public Schools Governing Board in 1996, many voters she met wondered if the young-looking 36-year-old was old enough to serve in office.

But the unassuming suburban mom won that race — and two more that followed. Her critics, often fellow board members, learned not to underestimate her.

Twelve years later and weathered by a series of political campaigns and public standoffs, the Oro Valley Democrat was sworn in to the state House of Representatives on Tuesday.

She assumes her new office just nine months after resigning from the Governing Board, citing exhaustion and the need to care for her elderly parents, situations she said have both improved.

Young Wright takes the District 26 seat of Rep. Lena Saradnik, who resigned this month after a November stroke. Young Wright's selection, approved by the Pima County Board of Supervisors, resulted in a political scrap that had Saradnik intervening to advocate for another Democrat as some party activists questioned Young Wright's credentials.

With the political dust settled, Young Wright assumes her role representing Oro Valley, Marana and the Foothills. She's guided, she says, by the independent thinking that drove her maverick days in Amphi.

"I come from a family of homesteaders, who had to be independent to tough it out," Young Wright says. "I very much like to do my own thinking, my own research. I don't particularly like to be told what to do."

It was 12 years ago that Young Wright emerged as a public figure, leading the Amphitheater district through a major upheaval in the late 1990s.

When the district administration advised her in a "welcome" meeting not to ruffle any feathers, Young Wright didn't listen. She scrutinized the district's policies against public comment during meetings and its land deals, and she squawked about a preschool program that was funding retreats at a local resort.

"They were on a crash course," Young Wright says, looking back.

Board members who stood on the opposite side of the junior member eventually lost elections or were recalled.

"She was part of a movement, but she was also an inspiration for the movement," says Kent Barrabee, an Amphi board member who was elected during the 2000 recall election. "She's been a type of spiritual leader for community activists."

After a decade of political success on the board, Young Wright entered the Oro Valley mayor's race in 2006, losing by 14 percentage points to incumbent Paul Loomis.

A year later, she resigned from the school board, citing the ailing health of her parents.

"I was tired there," she says now. "Things had reached a natural ending." And as for her parents: "We went through some tough times. Things have improved."

The question is whether Young Wright will have the chance to be anything more than a one-term legislator.

Her new seat is in a Republican-leaning district and is one that will be sought after in November by candidates of both parties.

Four candidates already have filed to run in the district, where both Young Wright's seat and the seat of termed-out state Rep. Pete Hershberger, a Republican, will be on the ballot.

Even though some activists in Young Wright's district opposed her nomination, House Democratic leader Phil Lopes, who encouraged her to run for the House in 2004, sees her as being strong headed into November.

"I think she comes as someone who is electable," Lopes said. "She's won elections before."