Rose Mofford

Street commemorating Rose Mofford outside the State Capitol building in Phoenix, Arizona.

When Governor Raúl Castro announced his resignation to become Ambassador to Argentina, Secretary Bolin ascended to the governorship. Arizona does not have a lieutenant governor; the secretary of state stands first in the line of succession to the governorship if retaining office by election. Bolin in turn appointed Mofford to serve the remainder of his term as Secretary of State.[8][9]

Bolin died in office on March 4, 1978. Although Mofford was Secretary of State, she held that post by appointment, so she could not ascend to the governorship; instead, Attorney General Bruce Babbitt became governor.[10] At the end of the term she ran for a full term as Secretary of State and won. She was reelected in 1982 and 1986.[7] In 1982 she won the election by nearly a 2–1 ratio, and won unopposed in 1986.[11] Mofford became known in the state capital as the friendly woman with a beehive hairdo, and her office gained a reputation as an efficient operation. She was punctual, answering her own phone and replying directly to her mail. In addition to her state position, she served from 1982 until 1983 as president of the National Association of Secretaries of State.[12]

In traditionally Republican Arizona, Democrat Mofford was well-liked by members of both parties.[13] She was a bipartisan leader who often reached across the political aisle.[11]

Governor Evan Mecham was impeached on February 8, 1988. Per the Arizona Constitution, his powers were suspended and Mofford became acting governor.[8][14] While most observers complimented her on the job she performed, Mecham objected to Mofford replacing the one state department head that he had appointed.[8][15] Mecham was convicted on two of four articles in the impeachment trial and removed from office on April 4, 1988. Mofford was sworn in as Governor for the balance of Mecham's term,[16] despite the fact that Article V, Section 2, of the Arizona Constitution, then provided that all state office holders must be male persons. In an election held on November 8, 1988, Arizona voters adopted Proposition 103, eliminating the gender-specific qualification for office.[17]

Mofford was thought to have had a rocky transition to the governorship at first,[18] as she faced a collapse of the real-estate market and a high deficit left over from the previous administration.[18]

Mofford's primary goal as governor was to return stability to Arizona. She was called "the healing governor", and some thought it was her duty as governor to repair the state.[19] Mofford also received this nickname due to her ability to ease racial division in Arizona, which some considered a problem under Mecham.[11] Her efforts were widely held as providing a calming effect following the tumultuous impeachment and recall proceedings of her predecessor.[20] State Senate Democratic leader Alfredo Gutierrez said of her actions, "What she did was reinvest the system with dignity and honor."[4] During her time in office, Mofford was one of only three female governors in the country.[19]

Mofford fought for higher bonding limits[18] and increased funding for mental health programs in Arizona.[21] She strongly opposed English-only instruction in Arizona schools and considered herself an advocate for civil liberties.[22] Known for her fondness for athletics, Mofford created a funding mechanism to keep Major League Baseball's Cactus League in the state.[18] She created the Governor's Alliance Against Drugs, the Governor's Youth Commission Against Drugs, and managed the formation of the state's first Drug Prevention Resource Center.[1] The governor formed a task force to combat the HIV/AIDS epidemic statewide, as a response to its rising national concern;[22] during this time, the HIV/AIDS crisis was an issue thought to be ignored by politicians throughout the country.[22] Mofford tried to increase political leadership opportunities for women in the state,[22] appointing more minorities and women to commissions, boards, and courts than any other past Arizona governor.[22]

Mofford advocated for the re-establishment of Martin Luther King Day as a paid state holiday;[23] this holiday had been rescinded under her predecessor.[24] The holiday was eventually reinstated by popular vote in 1992 after she had left office.[24]

In 1988, Mofford stated her opposition to a bill banning abortions in the state (except in extreme cases), claiming it was unconstitutional.[25] The proposed legislation was rejected by the state legislature by one vote.[25]

Mofford enjoyed a high level of popularity in the state, but her popularity decreased when she commuted two murder sentences in 1989;[18] convicted murderers James Hamm and Carl Kummerlowe were able to attain early parole under her commutations, which she later tried to rescind.[26]

In early 1990, Mofford announced that she had decided not to run for election to a full four-year term.[27] She was succeeded by Fife Symington. Mofford told reporters in 1990 that she hoped to be remembered "as a caring governor, because I cared about everybody in Arizona".[11]

On August 31, 2016, after falling at her home, Mofford was admitted to a hospice. She died there on September 15, 2016, at the age of 94.[6] After Mofford's death, Governor Doug Ducey said that "rising through the ranks of state government to our state's top office, she [Mofford] shattered a once-thought-unbreakable glass ceiling and served as an unparalleled role model to many".[13]

Grave of Governor Mofford

Rose Mofford is buried at Saint Francis Catholic Cemetery in Phoenix, Arizona. In 2017, a new grave marker was unveiled for Mofford's grave, which includes among other things images of her meeting Pope John Paul II in 1987 and Mother Teresa in 1989; those meetings were some of her favorite times as governor.[32]