'I doubled my family': Arizona lawmaker connects with daughter he never knew he had

For state Rep. David Livingston, getting an early January text message from a former lawmaker was not unusual.

But this was no normal message about state budgets or political chatter. The text was a "game changer," Livingston, 59, said: It led to the discovery he has an adult daughter he never knew about.

Over the course of a dizzying first two weeks of 2024, the Peoria Republican wrapped his head around this news, courtesy of the popularity of DNA tests and the hunt for family connections.

Eight days after that text, Livingston was sitting in the Chandler home of his daughter, Shanda Payne, a married mother of two.

It was a meeting that neither of them had expected. Payne, 38, said she took a 23andMe DNA test in December out of curiosity. She wasn't expecting anything that would change her life story.

Livingston was initially shocked at the news, which he confirmed with a paternity test of his own. “Oh my God, I’m turning 60 and I have another family I didn’t know," he said.

He did some quick mental math. "That puts me in my freshman year at ASU, at a fraternity," he said, having "relations."

He said he never heard about a pregnancy; he's not listed on his daughter's birth certificate. By the time the baby was born, her mother was married.

For 38 1/2 years, their lives went on, each unaware of the other. Even stranger: They both work for state government: Livingston at the Capitol and Payne at the state Department of Health Services. Yet their paths never crossed.

More: DNA testing connects adoptees with birth parents. What happens next is complicated

The meeting at Payne's Chandler home was "easy," Livingston said. "It was fun."

Payne put Livingston at ease when she met him and his wife of 36 years, Tracy, in her driveway. She ushered them inside, where nearly four decades of stories tumbled out.

She introduced him to his granddaughters, ages seven and 10. They quickly showed off their rooms to him, something Livingston didn't recognize as a sign of acceptance until his wife pointed it out to him.

Former state senator helped connect father, daughter

Payne marveled at the quick turn of events, driven by her connection to the family of Bob Worsley, a former state senator who had served with Livingston at the Capitol.

Payne had turned to her longtime close friends, Worsley's daughters Chelsee and Kristen, to help pull threads on the family connections revealed in her 23andMe results.

The three worked quickly; in less than a day, they determined Payne's paternal great-grandfather was from the Chicago area.

That led to his offspring, one of whom, records showed, was an Arizona state lawmaker: Did Bob Worsley by any chance know a David Livingston?

From there, Worsley played the middleman.

"He was lovely about it," Worsley said, describing Livingston's reaction. After getting over the initial surprise, "he was just jolly, happy.”

Payne said both her mother and her father have taken the news in stride and are happy for her.

In late January, seated side by side in an office at the state Capitol, Livingston and Payne shared their story with a reporter, smiling and laughing at the rapid turn of events.

Payne referred to her newfound father as "dad." Livingston was still amazed: "I doubled my family." He has a son from his marriage with Tracy, but now he also has a daughter. And two more grandchildren, in addition to his son's boy.

Livingston gave Payne a quick tour of the House of Representatives, where he works. Payne works for the state Department of Health Services, but she never had been to the Capitol.

Livingston said he wanted to get his story out before anyone did it for him.

"In my side of the business, either you're controlling the message or you're reacting to the message," he said. "And the latter is not very good."

DNA testing brings unknown family ties to light

The advent of commercial DNA testing kits such as Ancestry.com and 23andMe has triggered a wave of genealogical connections, delighting many but at times also surfacing painful memories.

Four years ago, then-state lawmaker Jay Lawrence announced in a tweet that he had learned he had a daughter from an affair while in the Air Force. He later clarified he was not married at the time and later said his daughter was upset at the publicity he had caused.

Meeting Payne and developing a relationship with her and her family is his priority, Livingston said. He has no immediate plans to meet the birth mother. The entire head-spinning developments have reminded him of the importance of family, even when found later in life.

"I think being a part of a family is a blessing," he said.

As for DNA tests?

Livingston said he wouldn't discourage them, including for his old college buddies, who are now in their late 50s and early 60s.

But, he cautioned, “At any time, you could get a phone call."

Reach the reporter at maryjo.pitzl@arizonarepublic.com or at 602-228-7566 and follow her on Threads as well as on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter @maryjpitzl.

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This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: DNA test connects AZ Rep. David Livingston with daughter he never knew