Darren Wright

Darren Wright was originally appointed to the Board in 2013 by Jan Brewer. He replaced Nancy Bradley, a Midwestern University faculty member and one of the nation's foremost experts in animal sexual abuse. He was subsequently reappointed by Brewer's successor, Doug Ducey. According to his Senate executive summary, Wright graduated from Michigan State University with a degree in veterinary medicine. He was an emergency veterinarian for the Phoenix Zoo, an associate veterinarian at Scottsdale Animal Clinic, a Banfield chief of staff, and a medical director at Augusta Ranch before becoming the owner of Kaibab Animal Hospital (link) in 2014. After his first appointment to the Arizona veterinary board, he also went on to act as the Chairman of Bylaws and Resolutions at the American Association of Veterinary State Boards (AAVSB).

Darren Wright's 2014 Senate confirmation hearing began with an exceedingly brief introduction by Wright himself. Most of the hearing was taken up with two questions from state senator Farnsworth. Farnsworth began by noting that a "concern for quality and efficiency" was one of Wright's selling points on the information he was provided. Farnsworth then inquired if Wright knew the size of the vet board's annual budget, which Wright did not know. Farnsworth then performed a rather long calculation that concluded the veterinary board was spending $1.12 per minute assuming a 24-hour day; he asked Wright to "guard the money carefully."

Farnsworth also asked a question regarding regulation of veterinarians, stating that while people are taking care of our "wonderful pets" the veterinarians' "jobs are on the line as well," with Farnsworth noting that the Board will "hold their lives in your hands" when "they make mistakes, as human beings do." Wright replied that he believed the primary job of the board is to protect the public, but also said that he doesn't believe in removing a veterinarian's license unless there has been an "egregious error." Wright continued that it's important for people to learn from their mistakes. Wright also fielded a question from another senator regarding a shortage of veterinarians in rural areas.

Wright's 2019 renomination hearing was significantly shorter. Wright read a brief biographical statement, fielded no questions, and was sent to the full Senate in under two minutes.

Darren Wright so far wins the trophy for most unique side-hustle managed out of a veterinary clinic. A 2016 registration with the Arizona Corporation Commission lists a Darren Wright as sole member-manager of 4Play Nightclub LLC, registered at 3010 North 68th Street in Scottsdale. By some strange coincidence it happens that's also the address of Kaibab Animal Hospital. Expired Arizona liquor licenses INP070001310 and INP070002540 list Darren Wright and 4Play Nightclub LLC as the license holders for Club Volt in Phoenix, a now-defunct venue according to Google. Facebook postings indicate that performers operating under the Club Volt nom-de-plume are still in business at another location, and 4Play Nightclub LLC recently updated its Arizona Corporation Commission information.

Wright appears to have featured in a now-unavailable August 2019 article in Echo Magazine authored by Tom Reardon. While the original article is not available online, an apparent repost on OutVoices offers some insight into Wright's caring attitude regarding veterinary medicine. During a discussion regarding euthanasia, while stating that he goes "into every euthanasia hoping it’s my last one," he believes it's a valid treatment that is "a very kind tool. It’s a gift you can give them to take away pain, to take away suffering, to give them the dignity that we just don’t get to do with people honestly." He also argues that he's seen too many times when people wait too late to terminate their pet, spending thousands of dollars to run tests instead. He says he's there to represent the animal's interests and when you "look in their eyes and you see that they’re just not having fun anymore" you need to think about a final exit. He later complains about the high rate of suicide bumping off so many depressed veterinarians (link).

Darren Wright and Kaibab Animal Clinic [sic] are also listed as a partner by Tucson-based Orange Paws, a pet health company that claims turmeric can treat everything from high cholesterol to cancer using the principles of Ayurvedic and Chinese medicines (link). One does wonder about the juxtaposition of beliefs here: Wright laments pointless medical spending in a magazine article yet apparently endorses selling the modern equivalent of snake oil under his very roof according to a purveyor of alternative medicines.

Strangely, for a man who appears to have owned both his own clinic and his own nightclub, it appears that earlier in his career he suffered a financial crisis of faith. In a July 2011 VIN article by Edie Lau, Dream of veterinary career deterred by school expense (link), an Arizona companion animal veterinarian named Darren Wright is quoted as having second thoughts on an internal message board exclusive to veterinarians: "I love being a vet but, to be honest, if I could give up my degree to wipe out my $230K debt, I would in a heartbeat." Somehow an individual with such crippling debt in 2011 went on to buy his own vet clinic in 2014 after he became a member of the state veterinary board, and two years later shows up as the owner of a nightclub in Arizona Corporation Commission records.

Wright was also around to be one of the defendants in a famous lawsuit brought by Celeste Kelly, Grace Granatelli, Stacey Kollman, and the Institute for Justice. The state veterinary board had attempted to prohibit the plaintiffs from practicing horse massage without a veterinary medical degree, leading to a long and drawn-out legal case in the Arizona courts.

According to a December 2023 Facebook post, Kaibab Animal Hospital may be under new ownership. Wright's role or future plans will pop up here as events unfold.

Voting Summary

Darren Wright voted to dismiss about 79.7% of complaints in our Tails of Woe.

We've tallied up Darren Wright's votes during the time covered by our public records requests. Of the cases we have, Darren Wright voted in 557 cases. Of those, Darren Wright voted in favor of at least one motion containing the word "dismiss" in 444 of them.

Below we've included Darren Wright's vote breakdowns for up to ten of the most common motions. We also have a detailed list of votes and their associated complaints available in the Voting History.

Motion	Aye	Nay	Recused	Absent	Total
Dismiss with no violation	394	12	6	49	461
Schedule informal interview	64	6	2	22	94
Offer consent agreement	57	5	2	17	81
Find violation	48	9	1	12	70
Dismiss with no violation and issue letter of concern	21	6	1	14	42
Issue board order	26	0	1	7	34
Accept consent agreement	15	0	0	0	15
Disagree and dismiss with no violation	13	1	0	1	15
Disagree and dismiss with no violation and issue letter of concern	13	0	0	1	14
Issue letter of concern	10	2	0	1	13

Archival Content

Additional archival content for Darren Wright is posted below and hosted at the Internet Archive.

Corporate Record	4Play Nightclub LLC Articles of Organization (Arizona Corporation Commission) (2016)
Corporate Record	4Play Nightclub LLC Statement of Change (Arizona Corporation Commission) (2023)
Corporate Record	Club Volt Liquor License (Arizona Department of Liquor Licenses and Control) (2018)
Corporate Record	Club Volt Liquor License (Arizona Department of Liquor Licenses and Control) (2019)
Executive Summary	Darren Wright Executive Appointment Summary (Legislative Session 512R)
Executive Summary	Darren Wright Executive Appointment Summary (Legislative Session 541R)
Senate Nomination Hearing	Darren Wright Senate Nomination Hearing (Legislative Session 512R)
Senate Nomination Hearing	Darren Wright Senate Nomination Hearing (Legislative Session 541R)