Senator Darling was elected to the State Assembly in a May 1990 special election and was reelected in November 1990. She was elected to the State Senate in 1992 and was reelected in 1996, 2000 and most recently in 2004.
Senator Darling is a member of: League of Women Voters; Rotary of Menomonee Falls; Junior League of Milwaukee (former pres.); Today's Girls/Tomorrow's Women/Boys Girls Club (founder); Natl. Conf. of State Legislatures Host Com., Milwaukee 1995 (co-chp.); NCSL Education Com. (chp.).
Senator Darling is a former member of: Public Policy Forum, Shared Delivery Service Com.; Next Door Foundation Adv. Com.; Tempo Professional Women's Organization; Alverno College Comn. on Education in the 21st Century; Wis. Strategic Planning Council for Economic Development, Small Business Task Force of Wis.; Greater Milwaukee Com.; Goals for Greater Milwaukee 2000 Project (exec. com.); United Way (exec. com. dir. and chm. of Allocations Div.); Future Milwaukee (pres.); Milwaukee Forum; Children's Service Soc. of Wis. (bd. of dir.); American Red Cross of Wis. (exec. com., bd. of dir.). Senator Darling is a recipient of the: Fair Air Coalition Friend of Education; Metropolitan Milwaukee Assn. of Commerce Champion of Commerce; Wis. Head Start Directors Assn. Award of Excellence; Future Milwaukee Leadership Award; National Assn. of Community Leadership Leadership Award; United Way Gwen Jackson Leadership Award; ESHAC Governor's Service Award; William Steiger Award for Human Service; St. Francis Children's Center Children Service Award; Riverwest Effective State Leadership Award; Milwaukee Civic Alliance Community Leadership Award; American Marketing Assn. Marketer of the Year. Listed in Who's Who in the World, Who's Who in America and Who's Who in American Women.