By Maria Polletta | The Arizona Republic
Mesa Sen. Rich Crandall has yet to submit his formal resignation letter, but local Republicans already are vying for the vacancy that will be created by his move to the Wyoming Department of Education.
Rep. Kelly Townsend, R-Mesa; Legislative District 16 Chairman Jerry Clingman; and Mesa Republican Taylor McArthur have expressed interest in Crandall’s Senate seat in the two weeks since Wyoming Gov. Matt Mead announced Crandall to head the education department.
A moderate, LD16 Republican who previously chaired Arizona’s Senate and House Education committees and was Mesa’s school board president, Crandall, 45, repeatedly has called the post his “dream job.”
According to the Casper Star-Tribune, Crandall would take over from an interim director appointed after former department head Cindy Hill was stripped of her responsibilities earlier this year. Hill is challenging her removal for allegedly misusing federal funds for “unauthorized programs and trips in the state plane.”
Assuming Hill’s removal sticks and Crandall secures Wyoming Senate approval, Crandall will begin working part-time there Aug. 1. He said he likely will resign his Senate seat officially in late fall after transitioning his Arizona companies, CN Resource and Crandall Corporate Dieticians, and begin working full time.
