Dairy farmer Sine Kerr to represent West Valley in Arizona Senate

Sine Kerr will represent Legislative District 13 in the state Senate after a unanimous vote by the Maricopa County Board of Supervisors on Thursday afternoon.

She replaces former Sen. Steve Montenegro, R-Litchfield Park, who resigned the seat to run for the congressional post formerly held by Trent Franks.

The district stretches southwest from western Maricopa County to Yuma.

Kerr, a Buckeye dairy farmer for nearly 40 years and a graduate of Buckeye Union High School, has held leadership roles with organizations such as the Arizona Farm Bureau and the Buckeye Chamber of Commerce.

“I am honored to represent the area where I’ve grown a family and a business,” Kerr said in a released statement. “The people in this community matter to me and I know what matters to them. I plan to be a strong voice for District 13 in the Arizona Senate.”

The Board of Supervisors was presented with three candidates to represent the district and voted for Kerr unanimously.

"I'm ready to push up my sleeves to work hard for the people of LD 13 and for our state," Kerr said.

District 4 Supervisor Clint Hickman called all three candidates "fine individuals."

Joanne Osborn and Royce Jenkins were the other two people vying for the seat. Osborn served as the vice mayor of Goodyear from 2011 to 2013, while Jenkins is a diabetes grants manager at the Phoenix Area Indian Health Service Office.

Steve Gallardo, District 5 supervisor, said at the meeting that he believes Kerr will hit the ground running.

“There’s a lot of issues facing the state of Arizona and a lot of important things on the burner that will have to be dove right into,” Gallardo said.

The seat will be up for election again later this year in the August primary and November general election.

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