Governor C.L. "Butch" Otter has selected Boise Rep. Janie Ward-Engelking, a Democrat, to fill the Idaho Senate seat vacated by Sen. Branden Durst.
Ward-Engelking is a freshman lawmaker who was elected to the state House of Representatives in 2012.
Here's the press release issued by Gov. Otter's office.
Governor C.L. “Butch” Otter announced the appointment today of freshman Representative Janie Ward-Engelking to the Idaho Senate vacancy left by last month’s resignation of first-term Senator Branden Durst of Boise. Ward-Engelking, a retired teacher, was among three nominees submitted to Governor Otter by the District 18 Democratic Legislative Committee to fill the final year of Durst’s two-year term. Her appointment creates a vacancy in the House of Representatives from District 18. The same committee that nominated her for the Senate now must submit up to three names to the Governor for a successor to that House seat. “Representative Ward-Engelking was part of an exemplary freshman class in the Idaho House. Now she has the opportunity to continue her work in the Idaho Senate, where I’m confident she will continue to serve the people of District 18 well,” Governor Otter said.
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