Sara Cambensy reflects on time as 109th State House Representative

MARQUETTE, Mich. (WLUC) - Former 109th State House District Representative Sara Cambensy has officially passed the torch to Democrat Jenn Hill.

As Cambensy leaves her role as state representative of the 109th district, she thinks fondly of her three terms representing Alger, Luce and part of Marquette counties.

On Nov. 16, 2017, Cambensy assumed her role in office. She won a special election to replace the late John Kivela. Cambensy said while it was fast-paced at first, she eventually got the hang of things.

“It was a great experience for me being able to go in as a new legislator, fresh face and being able to work with everybody and anybody,” Cambensy said.

Cambensy credits her success to her U.P. legislative colleges. She said a lot of her time in Lansing consisted of working across the aisle.

“I was part of bill packages that included my republican colleges, and we got those across the finish line,” Cambensy said.

In fact, Cambensy added that her proudest accomplishment was passing her first bill in 2019. House Bill 4227 was a bipartisan effort to create The Committee on Michigan’s Mining Future.

It was responsible for making recommendations to strengthen and develop sustainable mining practices in Michigan while protecting the environment.

“It allowed everyone to sit down together with our state department and kind of say where are we going with mining? We know we have a huge increase with the EV push and the EV vehicles coming online, what does that mean and look like?” Cambensy said.

Although Cambensy is uncertain of what she will be doing in the near future, her hope is to stay in the U.P.