Democratic state Sen. Tick Segerblom confirmed Monday that he is exploring the idea of leaving the Legislature to run for a vacant seat on the Clark County Commission.

The veteran lawmaker, who has been instrumental in pushing for the legalization of recreational marijuana, is considering running to replace term-limited Clark County Commissioner Chris Giunchigliani in District E, first reported by the Las Vegas Review-Journal. He said that he has been toying with the idea since beginning of the year but wanted to get through the legislative session first before he set his sights on 2018.

“I wanted to go through the session and make sure the session worked out,” Segerblom said.

The 68-year-old attorney noted that many state lawmakers go on to serve in local government and that his knowledge of state laws would be helpful to him serving on the commission. Segerblom served in the Assembly from 2007 to 2012 before joining the Senate in 2013. His current term is up in 2020.

“If you look at the pecking order of elected positions in the state, it’s really the Assembly, Senate and then you go to some type of local government or statewide,” Segerblom said.

Giunchigliani, a Democratic former Assemblywoman, has represented the district since 2006 is ineligible to run again when her term is up in the fall of 2018 due to term limits. District E covers part of the Las Vegas Strip and the east part of the Las Vegas Valley.

Segerblom said he has spoken with Giunchigliani about running for her seat. He said that though no candidate for the seat would be as knowledgeable as her, “philosophically we come from the same part of the spectrum.”

Giunchigliani said that she's supportive of Segerblom "looking" at the commission seat.

"I know he cares about neighborhoods and smart growth like I do," she said in a text message.

Segerblom said that he plans to talk to the gaming companies, the politically powerful Culinary Union and other labor groups as part of his exploration into running for the commission.

Beyond pot, Segerblom said he hopes to focus on “real quality of life” issues on the commission.

“I’m a big believer that growth does not pay for itself, we have to figure out a way to make that happen,” Segerblom said.

The window to file for county commission opens in March.

Riley Snyder contributed to this story.