During this upcoming election year, we are faced with the task of choosing our new governor. As we look forward to the future changes, we also look back at previous Arizona governors and what they did while in office.
George W.P. Hunt: 1912-1917, 1917-1919, 1923-1929, 1931-1933
Started the Colorado River rights movement
Supported organized labor, women’s suffrage, secret ballots, income tax, free silver coinage, and compulsory education
Wrote and introduced House Bill 42 during which created what is now the Arizona State Museum at the University of Arizona in Tucson
Thomas E. Campbell: 1917, 1919-1923
Arizona’s first native-born governor
Contributed to Arizona’s early-century infrastructure, linking mining towns to developing cities
Helped modernize the state’s tax and revenue laws
John C. Phillips: 1929-1931
Was instrumental in creation of a free county library system, the Colorado River Commission, the State Bureau of Criminal Identification and the Arizona Game and Fish Department
Benjamin B. Moeur: 1933-1937
Fought to fund Arizona’s New Deal programs
Mobilized the Arizona National Guard to stop the construction on Parker Dam because the dam had never been properly authorized
Rawghlie Stanford: 1937-1939
Dealt with the restoration of Arizona’s economy, which deteriorated during the Great Depression
Helped established the Federal Social Security Act, pass a minimum-wage law, and banished unfair sales practices
Robert T. Jones: 1939-1941
Coined the term “Valley of the Sun”
Helped shape Arizona into a tourism destination
Merged the offices of State Historian and State Librarian, passed a minimum wage law for public works employees, and regulated the paroling and pardoning of convicts
Sidney P. Osborn: 1941-1948
Ratified the Colorado River Compact
Created a retirement system for state employees
Reformed groundwater policy to stop over-pumping
Dan E. Garvey: 1948-1951
Signed law giving Native Americans the right to vote in Arizona
Presided over one of the largest growth periods in Arizona history between 1948-1951
John Howard Pyle: 1951-1955
Helped create the Underground Water Commission,
Helped establish the Arizona Development Board
Helped enact a Civil Defense Act
Ernest McFarland: 1955-1959
Helped prevent California from reneging on the Colorado River Compact
Worked with members of the Bureau of Reclamation to pick a location for the Glen Canyon Dam
Emphasized education
Paul Fannin: 1959-1965
Managed economic transition from copper and agriculture to manufacture and industry
Launched Arizona’s community college system
Increased funding for the public school system by raising sales taxes
Equalized property taxes
Established the first medical school in the state
Created the Arizona-Mexico Commission to promote tourism and trade across the border
Samuel P Goddard: 1965-1967
Embraced Fair Share program for needy school districts
Wrested budgetary control from legislature
Helped secure a reliable water source for the state,
Signed a bill banning discrimination on grounds of race, gender, religion and ethnicity
Established the state’s first budget office and worked to improve relations with the Mexican state of Sonora.
Jack Williams: 1967-1975
Arizona’s first 4-term governor
Keyed up Central Arizona Project
Helped employment rise by 50% during his term
Worked to minimize taxes, balance the state budget, and provide a favorable business environment
Raul Castro: 1975-1977
Secured federal highway funds
Mobilized the Navajo vote
Wesley Bolin: 1977-1978
Received first Liberty Bell Award in Arizona in recognition of his responsibility as keeper of the laws
Bruce Babbitt: 1978-1987
Authored Arizona’s Underground Water Act
Only AZ governor to complete two full 4-year terms
Evan Mecham: 1987-1988
Opened a trade office in Taiwan that allowed for a $63 million cotton export contract
Strengthened drug abuse prevention efforts
Spearheaded an effort to raise the speed limit on rural highways from 55 mph to 65 mph Supported a legislative bill to prevent takeover of Arizona businesses
Reduced state spending resulting in an elimination of $157 million budget deficit
Rose Mofford: 1988-1991
First female Governor of Arizona
Fife Symington: 1991-1997
Created budget surplus and kept taxes low
Jane Hull: 1997-2003
Embraced high-tech sector and laid groundwork for TGen
Lowered taxes while improving public school financing and programs
First female elected to the office
Janet Napolitano: 2003-2009
Pushed full-day kindergarten through legislature
First woman to serve as chair of the National Governors Association
Jan Brewer: 2009-2015
Placed AZ above strict party politics