|
|
|
|
Legislator Profile - Representative Peggy Judd A native of Willcox, Arizona (population 4,294), Representative Judd has resided in Cochise County since birth. To hear her speak of her beloved home and its rich surroundings, there is little reason to think that she'll ever leave. "I love my world," the freshman representative enthuses. "I love the desert and the nighttime sky. I love the earth and trees and mountains. I love the cactus, the trains, the mines, the small hill towns, the smelters. I love everything about it." Raised on a Willcox farm, Representative Judd is a true daughter of Arizona. Her ancestral roots, encoded with a colorful state history, wind through early Mormon settlements, include indomitable repatriates from Mexico and even connect with Winnie Ruth Judd, the infamous "trunk murderess" (convicted of murder in 1932 after fleeing Phoenix on a train to Los Angeles with two shipping trunks containing the remains of her victims). The oldest of six children, Representative Judd has fond memories of her childhood on the farm. It was during her formative years that she developed a zealous work ethic, became actively involved in her church, and began a lifetime of service to others. She was in high school when she met her future husband and boon companion, Kit. More interested in Kit's kid brother Alan, the teenaged Peggy would loiter around the auto shop where the two brothers worked. Annoyed by the frequent and distracting presence of Peggy, Alan told Kit, "She can't keep hanging around here. You've got to do something." So Kit did something. He took Peggy out on a date (picking her up in his 1975 Mustang to see Disney's The Black Hole), married her and fathered her five children. He remains her best friend, closest confidante and trusted adviser. Representative Judd's passion for her world is reflected in the energy she has expended in making it a better place. Ambitious, curious, and interested in everything, she has a habit of signing up for causes and projects that will positively impact her fellows and her tribe. She has cut salt cedar in Aravaipa Canyon. She bakes pies by the score during the holidays. She has even served as president of Rex Allen Days, Inc., organizer of the iconic four-day western festival celebrating the life and times of the singing "Arizona Cowboy," who was born outside of Willcox at Mud Springs Canyon. Representative Judd is particularly effective when she sinks her teeth into a big project that involves lots of people and requires both leadership and attention to organizational detail. Providing inspiration and infusing other volunteers with courage, she will not rest until an undertaking in which she is involved is completed. With a profound sense of responsibility, she fears that everything will fall apart if she takes a break or looks the other way. So it was that she was a veritable force of nature in the reconstruction of her city's major park. She employed her architectural training to perform design work. She worked feverishly with the Parks and Recreation Commission to organize about twenty stakeholder meetings, collecting donations and acquiring important community input. She made presentations and met with multiple clubs and businesses. She attended to every possible detail. The legacy of her commitment is a multi-use facility that will serve her community for generations to come. Representative Judd's movement toward the Legislature was a natural byproduct of her native empathy, community activism and get-it-done attitude. Her interest in politics flared when she was serving as a sounding board for a dear friend who, discouraged by the country's direction, was venting despairingly about the state of the union and the nation's increasing tilt toward socialism. Knowing that dejected chatter was an insufficient response to her friend's concerns, Rep. Judd volunteered, "Well, let's do something about it." What she did was organize a tea party of disaffected yet patriotic citizens in Cochise County. The response was overwhelming, and people came from miles around to participate. Representative Judd found herself summarily immersed in a conservative political movement. She befriended a new universe of politically involved individuals and helped organize their civic activities. Recognizing her leadership abilities, these denizens of rural Arizona encouraged her to run for office. Attracted to the prospect, Representative Judd pondered a potential run for the Legislature in 2012, figuring that she would be sufficiently experienced and knowledgeable by then to make a credible bid for public office. Representative Judd's timetable, however, was accelerated on Mother's Day weekend, 2010. Her adult son picked her up and drove her to California for a spell of rest and relaxation. ("It was the best Mother's Day ever," she fondly recalls.) She was sitting on the beach when, interrupting her reverie, former Representative Gail Griffin (who was planning her own campaign for Senate), called with an important news flash. One of the two Republican candidates for the House from District 25 had dropped out of the race. "We need you to run," implored Griffin. "Everything looks and sounds better when you're on the beach," muses Representative Judd. Consequently, the vacationing firebrand answered, "Why not?" and her political career was launched. Cake-walking through the uncontested primary, the future representative knew within two weeks of the general election that she would win. She had thrown herself completely into the race, "traveling everywhere and meeting everybody," and she felt the political wind at her back. In the end, she was the top vote-getter in the District 25 House race. District 25 includes an unusual number of incorporated communities (a dozen in all), including Tombstone, Bisbee, Nogales and Sierra Vista. As a freshman lawmaker, Representative Judd feels that the Legislature has gotten "way off the track" by interfering with municipal prerogatives. "City and town councils know their communities better than we do, and we should leave as much up to them as possible," Representative Judd wisely opines. Representative Judd's political ambition is to do the best job she can on behalf of her constituents and to do everything within her power to make the state a better place. With a growing cohort of grandchildren - eight and counting - it has become her mission to ensure that they inherit a world that they can love as much as she does. That's a tall order. But if it's a matter of energy, organization and faith, then Representative Judd is the right person for the job. |
|
|
Legislative Bulletin is published by the League of Arizona Cities and Towns. Forward your comments or suggestions to league@azleague.org. |
