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{{Short description|American politician (1924–2008)}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=April 2018}}
{{Infobox officeholder
|name          = Evan Mecham
|image         = Evan Mecham (Arizona governor).jpg
|caption       = Mecham, {{circa|1987}}
|office        = 17th [[Governor of Arizona]]
|term_start    = January 5, 1987
|term_end      = April 4, 1988
|predecessor   = [[Bruce Babbitt]]
|successor     = [[Rose Mofford]]
|state_senate1 = Arizona
|district1     = [[Maricopa County, Arizona|Maricopa County]]
|alongside1    = Joe Haldiman
|term_start1   = 1961
|term_end1     = 1963
|predecessor1  = Hilliard Brooke<br>Frank Murphy
|successor1    = Hilliard Brooke<br>Paul Singer
|birth_date    = {{birth date|1924|5|12}}
|birth_place   = [[Mountain Home, Utah]], U.S.
|death_date    = {{death date and age|2008|2|21|1924|5|12}}
|death_place   = [[Phoenix, Arizona]], U.S.
|restingplace  = [[National Memorial Cemetery of Arizona]]
|party         = [[Republican Party (United States)|Republican]] (before 1992)<br>[[Independent politician|Independent]] (1992–2008)
|spouse        = {{marriage|Florence Lambert|1945}}
|children      = 7
|allegiance    = {{flag|United States|1912}}
|branch        = [[United States Army]]
|serviceyears  = 1943–1945
|rank          = [[File:US-O1 insignia.svg|8px]] [[Second lieutenant|Second Lieutenant]]
|unit          = [[File:US Army Air Corps Hap Arnold Wings.svg|20px]] [[United States Army Air Forces|U.S. Army Air Forces]]
|battles       = [[World War II]]<br>{{*}}[[European theatre of World War II|European–African–Middle Eastern Campaign]]{{POW}}
|mawards       = [[File:Purple Heart ribbon.svg|23px]] [[Purple Heart]]<br>[[File:Air Medal ribbon.svg|border|23px]] [[Air Medal]]<!-- EDITORS NOTE: Please do not change military awards without prior consensus, see [[Talk:Evan Mecham]]. -->
}}
'''Evan Mecham''' ({{IPAc-en|ˈ|m|iː|k|ə|m}} {{respell|MEE|kəm}};<ref name="The Lost Coattails"/> May 12, 1924 – February 21, 2008)<ref name="WashPost obit">{{cite web |last=Sullivan |first=Patricia |title=Evan Mecham, 83; Was Removed as Arizona Governor |newspaper=The Washington Post |date=February 23, 2008 |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/02/22/AR2008022202925.html |url-access=limited}}</ref> was an American businessman and the [[List of governors of Arizona|17th governor of Arizona]], serving from January 5, 1987, until his [[Impeachment by state and territorial governments of the United States|impeachment]] conviction on April 4, 1988. A decorated veteran of [[World War II]], Mecham was an [[Car dealerships in the United States|automotive dealership]] owner and occasional newspaper publisher.<ref name="Biggers 2017">{{Cite web |url=https://www.huffingtonpost.com/jeff-biggers/impeachment-arizona-once_b_14744166.html |title=Arizona Once Elected A Governor Like Trump... And Impeached Him |last=Biggers |first=Jeff |date=2017-02-14 |website=Huffington Post |language=en-US |access-date=2018-08-20}}</ref>

Periodic runs for political office earned him a reputation as a [[perennial candidate]] along with the nickname of "The [[Harold Stassen]] of [[Arizona]]" before he was elected governor, under the [[Republican Party (United States)|Republican]] banner.{{sfnp|Johnson|2002|p=38}} As governor, Mecham was plagued by controversy almost immediately after his inauguration and became the first U.S. governor to simultaneously face removal from office through impeachment, a scheduled [[recall election]], and a [[felony]] indictment.{{sfnp|Watkins|1990|p=11}} He is the only Arizona governor to be impeached,<ref>{{cite news |last=Fischer |first=Howard |date=February 23, 2008 |title=Ex-Gov. Evan Meacham dies |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/arizona-daily-star-meacham/176385214/ |work=[[Arizona Daily Star]] |location=Tucson |page=B1 |via=[[Newspapers.com]]}}</ref> as well as one of only 15 U.S. governors to be impeached.<ref>{{cite news |last=Bowden |first=Charles |date=April 29, 1990 |title=Arizona Impeaches an Embarrassment: High Crimes and Misdemeanors; The Terms and Trials of Former Governor Evan Mecham |url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1990-04-29-bk-163-story.html |work=[[Los Angeles Times]] |access-date=July 10, 2025}}</ref>

Mecham served one term as a [[Arizona Senate|state senator]] before beginning a string of unsuccessful runs for [[public office]]. His victory during the [[1986 Arizona gubernatorial election|1986 election]] began with a surprise win of the Republican nomination, followed by a split of the [[Democratic Party (United States)|Democratic party]] during the [[general election]], resulting in a three-way race. While Governor, Mecham made statements and actions that were widely perceived as racially charged or racist.{{sfnp|Johnson|2002|p=36}} Among these actions were the cancellation of the state's paid [[Martin Luther King Jr. Day]] and creating an unpaid King holiday on a Sunday, attributing high divorce rates to working women, and his defense of the word "[[pickaninny]]" in describing [[African American]] children. In reaction to these events, a [[boycott]] of Arizona was organized.<ref name="Chu 1987">{{cite magazine |last=Chu |first=Dan |date=August 24, 1987 |title=Arizona's Outspoken New Governor, Evan Mecham, Seems to Enjoy Diving Straight into Political Hot Water |magazine=People |volume=28 |issue=8 |url=http://www.people.com/people/archive/article/0,,20096951,00.html |archive-date=September 21, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160921133509/http://www.people.com/people/archive/article/0,,20096951,00.html |url-status=dead}}</ref> A rift between the Governor and fellow Republicans in the [[Arizona Legislature]] developed after ''[[The Arizona Republic]]'' newspaper made accusations of questionable political appointments and [[cronyism]].

Having served from January 5, 1987, to April 4, 1988, Mecham was removed from office following conviction in his [[impeachment trial]] on charges of [[obstruction of justice]] and misuse of government funds—funds that Mecham maintained were private. A later criminal trial acquitted Mecham of related charges. Following his removal from office, Mecham remained active in politics for nearly a decade. During this time, he served as a delegate to the [[Republican National Convention]] and made his final runs for the Arizona governorship and also for the [[United States Senate|U.S. Senate]], in which he unsuccessfully challenged [[John McCain]] as an [[independent politician|independent]].

==Early life and business career==
Evan Mecham was born to parents who were members of [[the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints]] in [[Mountain Home, Utah]], and raised on his family's farm.<ref>{{cite news |last=Flannery |first=Pat |author2=Crawford, Amanda J. |title=Former Arizona Gov. Evan Mecham dies at 83 |publisher=The Arizona Republic |date=February 22, 2008}}</ref> The youngest of five boys, with one younger sister, he graduated as [[salutatorian]] from [[Altamont, Utah|Altamont]] High School in 1942 and enrolled in [[Utah State Agricultural College]] on an agricultural scholarship. Mecham left college and joined the [[United States Army Air Corps|U.S. Army Air Corps]] in January 1943. He was trained as a [[P-38 Lightning]] [[Aviator|fighter pilot]] before being transferred to England, where he flew [[P-51 Mustang]]s. Mecham was shot down on March 7, 1945, while flying escort on a [[Reconnaissance#Airborne photo reconnaissance|photo reconnaissance]] mission and was held as a [[prisoner of war]] for 22 days.{{sfnp|Watkins|1990|p=25}} Mecham returned to the United States after recovering from injuries sustained in the lead-up to his capture, and received an [[Air Medal]] and [[Purple Heart]] for his service.{{sfnp|Johnson|2002|p=36}} Mecham married Florence Lambert in May 1945 and was discharged in December of the same year.<ref name="The Lost Coattails">{{cite magazine |title=The Lost Coattails |magazine=Time |date=September 21, 1962 |volume=80 |page=24 |issn=0040-781X}}</ref>{{sfnp|Watkins|1990|pp=23–25}} Together, the couple raised seven children: Suzanne, Dennis, Christine, Eric, Teresa, Kyle and Lance.{{sfnp|Johnson|2002|p=37}}

Mecham was an active member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. He taught [[Sunday school]] and served as a [[Bishop (Mormonism)|bishop]] in the LDS church from 1957 to 1961.<ref name="The Lost Coattails"/>{{sfnp|Watkins|1990|p=26}} Part of his faith was that God would guide his actions and provide him the strength needed to endure. These beliefs were in part demonstrated during his time as governor when one staff member reported hearing a conversation in Mecham's office before entering the room to find the Governor alone. Another staff member, Donna Carlson, reported that Mecham believed he had obtained office by [[Divine right of kings|divine right]] and was thus not overly concerned about the feelings of others.{{sfnp|Watkins|1990|pp=27–28}}

Mecham enrolled at [[Arizona State College]] in 1947 and majored in management and economics.{{sfnp|Johnson|2002|p=37}} In 1950, he left school 16 credit hours short of a degree to start Mecham [[Pontiac (automobile)|Pontiac]] and [[Rambler (automobile)|Rambler]] in [[Ajo, Arizona|Ajo]].{{sfnp|Jennings|1989|p=169}} Mecham relocated to [[Glendale, Arizona|Glendale]] in 1954 where he acquired and operated a Pontiac dealership until he sold it in March 1988.<ref>{{Cite news |date=2008-02-23 |title=Evan Mecham, 83; Was Removed as Arizona Governor |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/local/2008/02/23/evan-mecham-83-was-removed-as-arizona-governor/2595c515-f357-49fc-a692-fa71ece29c96/ |access-date=2025-09-15 |newspaper=The Washington Post |language=en-US |issn=0190-8286}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=2025-09-15 |title=No Rebates {{!}} TIME |url=https://time.com/archive/6708566/no-rebates/ |access-date=2025-09-15 |archive-date=September 15, 2025 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250915163731/https://time.com/archive/6708566/no-rebates/ |url-status=bot: unknown }}</ref> As a dealer, he appeared regularly in local television commercials and adopted his trademark motto of "If you can't deal with Mecham, you just can't deal." The Glendale dealership served as a base for other family-owned businesses, including Mecham Racing, Hauahaupan Mining Company and several auto dealerships in other states.<ref>{{harvp|Johnson|2002|p=37}}; {{harvp|Watkins|1990|pp=25–26, 35, 354}}</ref>

In addition to his auto dealership, Mecham owned several short-lived newspapers. One of his papers, the ''Evening American'', was printed as a [[Phoenix, Arizona|Phoenix]] daily with maximum circulation of 27,000 before becoming a weekly journal.{{sfnp|Watkins|1990|pp=31–32}} As a newspaper publisher trying to break into the Phoenix and [[Tucson, Arizona|Tucson]] markets, Mecham testified before the [[U.S. Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on Antitrust, Competition Policy and Consumer Rights|U.S. Senate Antitrust and Monopoly subcommittee]] on July 13, 1967. This testimony was in response to a bill sponsored by U.S. Senator [[Carl Hayden]] that provided partial immunity from the [[Sherman Antitrust Act]], allowing an economically healthy newspaper and one that was failing to form a joint venture combining advertising, printing, and distribution operations while maintaining separate reporting and editorial functions. While supporters of the bill claimed it would prevent newspaper failures, Mecham opposed the bill claiming "The major reason that this bill has been presented is because of the power of the press over the decisions of voters at the polls, and the desire of politicians to court the favor of those who control these monopolistic presses." He also added that "the tools of monopoly are in the common advertising and the common circulation department."<ref>{{cite news |first=John |last=Herbers |title=Arizona Publisher Says Papers In His State Dictate to Politicians |work=The New York Times |page=41:2 |date=July 14, 1967}}</ref>

==Political career==
Mecham first sought elected office in 1952, while still living in Ajo, with an unsuccessful run for the [[Arizona House of Representatives]]. After moving to Glendale, Mecham used the recognition gained from his television appearances to be elected to the [[Arizona Senate]] during the 1960 election.{{sfnp|Johnson|2002|p=37}} After one term as a state senator, in [[U.S. Senate election, 1962|1962]] Mecham attempted to capture the [[United States Senate|U.S. Senate]] seat held by [[Carl Hayden]], running on a platform demanding the United States withdraw from the United Nations and critical of a [[U.S. Supreme Court]] [[Engel v. Vitale|ruling limiting school prayer]].<ref name="The Lost Coattails"/> The campaign first saw Mecham win a victory in the Republican primary over [[Stephen Shadegg]], a former campaign manager for [[Barry Goldwater]]. Goldwater remained neutral. In the general election, Mecham received only tepid support from his party because of the value of Hayden's Senate seniority in passing legislation for the proposed [[Central Arizona Project]].{{sfnp|Johnson|2002|p=37}} Mecham was defeated in the general election but still polled 45 percent of the vote.<ref>{{cite news |title=The Voting for United States Senate |work=The New York Times |date=November 11, 1962}}</ref>

[[File:Glendale-Mecham House-1960-2.jpg|250px|thumb|Evan Mecham's house located at 5741 West Harmont Drive in Glendale]]
Following his campaign against Hayden, Mecham made an unsuccessful run for state chairman of the Republican party in 1963 and unsuccessful runs for governor of Arizona in 1964, 1974, 1978, and 1982.{{sfnp|Jennings|1989|pp=169, 171}} In these four runs, Mecham gained the Republican nomination only for the 1978 election.{{sfnp|Watkins|1990|pp=28–36}} He developed a political doctrine supporting [[Jeffersonian democracy]] and advocating elimination of [[income tax]]es, return of federal lands to state control, removing federal involvement in education, and putting welfare under state control.<ref name="Dougherty">{{cite news |first=John |last=Dougherty |title=None Dare Call it Reason: Arizona is a Hotbed of Constitutionalist Dissent, And Here are Four Who Fuel the Patriot Flame |newspaper=Phoenix New Times |date=July 6, 1995 |url=http://www.phoenixnewtimes.com/issues/1995-07-06/news/feature.html |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20041102230012/http://www.phoenixnewtimes.com/issues/1995-07-06/news/feature.html |archive-date=November 2, 2004 |df=mdy-all}}</ref> In 1982, Mecham wrote his first book, ''Come Back America'', in which he discusses his earlier life and political views.{{sfnp|Johnson|2002|p=39}}

In his fifth try for governor, Mecham ran as a political outsider using his standard platform advocating political reform and tax relief. Mecham's opponent in the Republican primary, [[Burton Barr]], had served as the Majority Leader of the Arizona House of Representatives. Barr had the support of the state GOP leadership, including [[Barry Goldwater]] and [[John McCain]]. Mecham's core support came from fellow Mormons and the [[Ultraconservatism|ultraconservative]] [[John Birch Society]]. A sizable portion of the state's retired population joined this core support with Mecham's promises of [[tax cut]]s. Because of Arizona's substantial transient population—only about half of the registered voters in 1986 were living in the state in 1980—Mecham's record of previous attempts to gain elected office was not widely known by the voters.{{sfnp|Watkins|1990|p=41}}<ref name="Weisman">{{cite news |first=Alan |last=Weisman |title=Up in Arms in Arizona |date=November 1, 1987 |work=The New York Times |page=VI 50:4}}</ref> The [[Partisan primary|primary election]] also saw the lowest voter turnout in nearly forty years due to unusual rain. Mecham overcame a fifteen-point deficit in the polls to win the Republican nomination with 54% of the vote.<ref>{{harvp|Watkins|1990|p=48}}; {{harvp|Johnson|2002|p=40}}</ref> Barr failed to spend much of his campaign war chest in the primary, ending his campaign with over a million dollars on hand.

The [[Arizona gubernatorial election, 1986|general election of 1986]] saw a three-way race for governor. The [[Democratic Party (United States)|Democratic Party]] had selected the state Superintendent of Public Education, Carolyn Warner, as its candidate. Dissatisfaction among the state's business and political leadership with both candidates allowed Bill Schulz, a [[real estate developer]] and Democrat who had withdrawn from the Democratic primary because of a family illness,{{sfnp|Jennings|1989|p=171}} to obtain enough [[petition]] signatures to run as an [[Independent (politician)|independent]] candidate. Six years earlier, Schulz had nearly defeated longtime U.S. Senator Barry Goldwater. Goldwater was slow to endorse Mecham in this race, but did so officially at a dinner in [[Lake Havasu City, Arizona|Lake Havasu City]]. During the campaign, the state Automobile Dealers Association's ethics committee placed Mecham's dealership on probation for being chronically tardy in responding to complaints.{{sfnp|Watkins|1990|p=56}} The Democratic split caused by Schulz's re-entry allowed Mecham's campaign to survive.<ref>{{cite magazine |title=Wild Cards |magazine=Time |date=September 29, 1986 |volume=128 |page=35 |issn=0040-781X}}</ref>
Mecham won the election with a 40% [[Plurality (voting)|plurality]] while Warner and Schulz received 34% and 26% respectively.<ref>{{cite book |title=State of Arizona Official Canvass – General Election – November 4, 1986 |publisher=Arizona Secretary of State |url=http://www.azsos.gov/election/1986/General/Canvass1986GE.pdf |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131102075351/http://www.azsos.gov/election/1986/General/Canvass1986GE.pdf |archive-date=November 2, 2013}}</ref>

==Governorship==
Mecham was inaugurated on January 5, 1987. Among his claimed successes were the opening of a trade office in [[Republic of China|Taiwan]] that allowed for a $63&nbsp;million cotton [[International trade|export]] contract and strengthening [[drug abuse]] prevention efforts through legislation allowing the governor to appoint ''[[pro tempore]]'' judges to deal with drug-related issues. The governor also spearheaded an effort within the [[National Governors Association]] to raise the speed limit on rural highways from 55&nbsp;mph (90&nbsp;km/h) to 65&nbsp;mph (105&nbsp;km/h)<ref name="Thompson Backs 65 M.p.h. Rural Limit">{{cite news |author=Tim Franklin, with contributions from Daniel Egler |title=Thompson Backs 65 M.p.h. Rural Limit |newspaper=[[Chicago Tribune]] |quote=Arizona Gov. Evan Mecham, a Republican and the sponsor of the governors`policy statement, called those federal sanctions an attempt to 'blackmail us into submission'. 'I don't find anyplace I go anyone really driving 55,' said Mecham, whose state includes vast, sparsely populated areas. 'I think it makes a mockery out of the national speed limit.' |date=February 24, 1987 |url=https://www.chicagotribune.com/1987/02/24/thompson-backs-65-mph-rural-limit/}}</ref> and supported a legislative bill to prevent takeover of Arizona businesses. During Mecham's term of office, a $157&nbsp;million budget deficit was eliminated by reductions in state spending.{{sfnp|Watkins|1990|pp=114–115}}<ref name="Grover 1987">{{cite magazine |first1=Ronald |last1=Grover |first2=Mark |last2=Ivey |title=When Evan Mecham Talks, Arizona Shudders |magazine=Business Week |date=September 28, 1987 |pages=110, 112–113 |issn=0007-7135}}</ref><ref name="Hull 1987">{{cite magazine |first=Jon D. |last=Hull |title=Evan Mecham, Please Go Home |magazine=Time |date=November 9, 1987 |volume=130 |pages=61 |url=http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,965917,00.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071103082858/http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,965917,00.html |url-status=dead |archive-date=November 3, 2007}}</ref>

===Martin Luther King Jr. Day===
<!-- When changing this section heading, you'll have to also change the link that points to it in [[By the Time I Get to Phoenix]] -->
Mecham gained national attention several days after his inauguration by fulfilling a campaign promise to cancel a paid [[Martin Luther King, Jr. Day]] holiday (MLK Day) for state employees. The holiday had been created in May 1986 by executive order from the previous governor, [[Bruce Babbitt]], after the state legislature had voted not to create the holiday. Following the creation of the holiday, the [[Arizona Attorney General|state Attorney General]]'s office issued an opinion that the paid holiday was illegal and threatened to [[Lawsuit|sue]] the incoming governor over the cost of the paid holiday, as it had not been approved by the legislature. Despite the issues of the legality of how the holiday was created, Mecham replied to comments from [[civil rights]] activists and the [[African-American|Black]] community after the cancellation by saying "King doesn't deserve a holiday." This was followed by him telling a group of Black community leaders, "You folks don't need another holiday. What you folks need are jobs."<ref name="Hawkins">{{cite magazine |first=Steve L. |last=Hawkins |title=Inside the Wacky World of Evan Mecham |magazine=U.S. News & World Report |date=February 22, 1988 |volume=104 |pages=29–30 |issn=0041-5537}}</ref>{{sfnp|Watkins|1990|pp=62–63, 65}}

In reaction to the cancellation, a protest march to the state capital was held on January 19, 1987, the day the holiday would have occurred. Conventions scheduled to be held in Arizona were canceled, and performer [[Stevie Wonder]] and writer [[Harlan Ellison]] separately announced that they would [[boycott]] the state. The rap group [[Public Enemy (group)|Public Enemy]] released a song in regard to the cancellation of the MLK holiday titled "[[By the Time I Get to Arizona]]"; in the video for the song, the group was seen assassinating Mecham by planting a bomb underneath his limousine and detonating it by remote control. The rock band [[U2]], which performed a concert at [[Arizona State University]] (ASU) in [[Tempe, Arizona|Tempe]] in early April 1987, joined in with the chorus of condemnation of Mecham, publicly announcing that they had donated money to the impeachment campaign, and having him denounced from the stage by a spokesman to their audience and the attending press, television, and radio outlets.<ref name="Palmer 1987">{{cite news |first=Robert |last=Palmer |title=U2 Starts National Tour on a Political Note |newspaper=The New York Times |date=April 4, 1987 |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1987/04/04/arts/u2-starts-national-tour-on-a-political-note.html |url-access=limited}}</ref>

After several months of criticism, Mecham declared a non-paid holiday on the third Sunday in January. Reaction in the state to the non-paid holiday was generally poor.<ref name="Weisman"/>{{sfnp|Watkins|1990|pp=68, 126}}

===Relations with legislature===
Although both houses of the state legislature were controlled by fellow Republicans, Mecham was on poor terms with state lawmakers. He repeatedly asserted that he was under no obligation to cooperate with the legislature, that he was answerable only to the [[United States Constitution]]—which, he believed, had been divinely inspired.<ref name="Pagán 1988">{{cite magazine |last=Pagán |first=Eduardo |title=Razing Arizona: The Clash in the Church Over Evan Mecham |url=https://www.sunstonemagazine.com/pdf/064-15-21.pdf |magazine=Sunstone |date=March 1988 |pages=15–21 |issn=0363-1370 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160303174245/https://www.sunstonemagazine.com/pdf/064-15-21.pdf |archive-date=March 3, 2016}}</ref> Several of Mecham's appointments to key executive positions—submitted without consultation with legislative leaders—were found to have highly questionable credentials. Examples included his choice to head the Department of Liquor Licenses and Control, who was under investigation for murder;{{sfnp|Watkins|1990|p=77}} the director of the Department of Revenue, whose company was in [[arrears]] by $25,000 on employment compensation payments;<ref>{{harvp|Jennings|1989|p=171}}; {{harvp|Watkins|1990|p=115}}</ref> the proposed supervisor of prison construction, who had served prison time for [[armed robbery]];{{sfnp|Watkins|1990|pp=158–159}} and a former Marine, nominated as a state investigator, who had been court-martialled twice.<ref name="Hull 1987"/> Other political appointees who caused Mecham embarrassment were an education adviser, James Cooper, who told a legislative committee, "If a student wants to say the world is flat, the teacher doesn't have the right to prove otherwise";<ref name="Weisman"/><ref name="Lindsey">{{cite news |last=Lindsey |first=Robert |title=A 'Hot' Week For Governor of Arizona |date=March 9, 1987 |work=The New York Times |page=I 12:4}}</ref> and [[Sam Steiger]], Mecham's special assistant, who was charged with [[extortion]].<ref name="Hull 1987"/>{{sfnp|Watkins|1990|pp=166–167}}

Mecham's legislative initiatives suffered due to his poor relations with the legislature. His proposal to cut the state's [[sales tax]] by one percentage point—a key campaign promise—failed, largely because Mecham did not specify which programs would lose funding, thus preventing lawmakers from determining how their constituencies would be affected.<ref name="Grover 1987"/>{{sfnp|Watkins|1990|pp=66–67}} His proposed $2.3&nbsp;billion budget, which cut education funding and froze state employee salaries, was increased by $200&nbsp;million by the legislature.<ref name="Grover 1987"/><ref name="Lindsey"/> Mecham lost further support by vetoing bills sponsored by key legislators, such as Senate Majority Leader [[Bob Usdane]]. "I'd say that the cooperation was not great", Usdane said, "but it's his prerogative". House Majority Leader Jim Ratliff, who had previously been a Mecham supporter, was a veto victim as well. "My only message to the governor is, if he thinks that people advising him to veto [my bill] can help him run the state of Arizona better than I can, then let them", he said in a statement.{{sfnp|Watkins|1990|pp=120–121}}

===Other incidents===
Besides the uproar caused by the MLK Day cancellation, claims of prejudice were made against Mecham after he defended the use of the racist word "[[pickaninny]]" to describe black children, claimed that high divorce rates were caused by working women, claimed America is a Christian nation to a Jewish audience, and said a group of visiting Japanese businessmen got "[[Roundeyes|round eyes]]" after being told of the number of golf courses in Arizona. In response to claims that he was a racist, Mecham said, "I've got black friends. I employ black people. I don't employ them because they are black; I employ them because they are the best people who applied for the cotton-picking job."{{sfnp|Watkins|1990|p=72}}<ref name="Hawkins"/> These and other statements only strengthened the allegations of racism made against the governor following the MLK day cancellation.

Mecham made an issue of his relationship with the press. Claiming that many of his problems were caused by media enemies he had made during previous runs for political office, the governor stated, "The [[Arizona Republic|Phoenix newspaper monopoly]] has had my political destruction as its goal for many years."<ref name="Grover 1987"/>{{sfnp|Watkins|1990|p=106}} The governor also claimed, "Every daily newspaper in the state endorsed a different candidate besides me. It's taking them a little time to get used to the idea that I was the people's choice."<ref name="Lindsey"/> In response to his perceived mistreatment by the press, Mecham attempted to ban a journalist from his press conferences. John Kolbe, a political columnist for the ''[[Phoenix Gazette]]'' and brother of Congressman [[Jim Kolbe]], was declared a "non-person" after a February 25, 1987, column critical of Mecham's performance at the [[National Governors Association]]. The Governor then refused to acknowledge the presence of the columnist or answer his questions at a press conference. Mecham left the conference after other reporters repeated Kolbe's questions.{{sfnp|Watkins|1990|pp=91–92}}<ref name="Lindsey"/> Another incident occurred during a televised event in which a reporter questioned the governor's integrity, prompting Mecham to reply, "Don't you ever ask me for a true statement again."<ref name="Hawkins"/> Mecham's press secretary Ken Smith later argued that the press "largely misunderstood" Mecham's retort. "Of course, the governor should not have said that, especially with the TV cameras rolling," he wrote. "In that heated context, what Mecham was telling Sam Stanton was not to challenge his honesty and integrity. Mecham often said the wrong thing, but he never lied."<ref name="Smith Aug 2012">{{cite web |last=Smith |first=Ken |date=17 August 2012 |title=Arizona's governor vs. the press |url=http://kensmith.us/?p=1061 |website=Kensmith.us |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160513061547/http://kensmith.us/?p=1061 |archive-date=May 13, 2016}}</ref>{{Third-party inline|date=December 2022}}

In 1987, a reporter for the ''Phoenix Gazette'' asked Mecham about the use of the word "pickaninny" in ''The Making of America'', a book by Mecham's mentor [[W. Cleon Skousen]]. Mecham defended the use of the word, saying, "As I was a boy growing up, blacks themselves referred to their children as pickaninnies. That was never intended to be an ethnic slur to anybody."{{sfnp|Watkins|1990|p=72}} This quote sparked national attention, in response to which Mecham again defended the use of the term "in a historical sense". Mecham's administration afterward became associated with the term "pickaninny".{{sfnp|Watkins|1990|pp=72–73}}
The same year, ''[[Doonesbury]]'' began a six strip series of comics lampooning the governor. The first strip depicted Mecham saying, "My! What a cute little pickaninny!" while patting the head of a black child.{{sfnp|Watkins|1990|p=145}}<ref name="Trudeau 1987">{{Cite news |last=Trudeau |first=G. B. |date=September 7, 1987 |title=Doonesbury |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/doonesbury/strip/archive/1987/9/7 |access-date=September 1, 2021 |newspaper=The Washington Post |url-access=limited}}</ref> Other strips satirized Mecham's tolerance of others, political appointments, and the state's loss of tourism business. For a short time, Mecham considered suing the strip's creator, but later said he had decided to leave the dispute "where it belongs—[[comic strip|the funny pages]]."<ref name="Weisman"/><ref name="Grover 1987"/> In the midst of the scandal, Governor Mecham telephoned ''[[Arizona Republic]]'' political cartoonist [[Steve Benson (cartoonist)|Steve Benson]], who would later win a [[Pulitzer Prize for Illustrated Reporting and Commentary|Pulitzer Prize]] in 1993, and told him to stop drawing critical cartoons about him, or his eternal soul would be in jeopardy.<ref name="Bagley 2019">{{Cite web |last=Bagley |first=Pat |date=January 24, 2019 |title=Cartoonist Pat Bagley lambasts Gannett for short-sighted and cruel staff cut |url=https://news.editorialcartoonists.com/aaec/2019/01/cartoonist-pat-bagley-lambasts-gannett-for-short-sighted-and-cruel-staff-cut-.html |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190130000343/https://news.editorialcartoonists.com/aaec/2019/01/cartoonist-pat-bagley-lambasts-gannett-for-short-sighted-and-cruel-staff-cut-.html |archive-date=January 30, 2019 |website=[[Association of American Editorial Cartoonists]]}}</ref>

Throughout his administration, Mecham expressed concern about possible [[eavesdropping]] on his private communications. A senior member of Mecham's staff broke his leg after falling through a false ceiling he had been crawling over, looking for [[covert listening device]]s. A [[private investigator]] was hired to sweep the governor's offices looking for bugs. The Governor was quoted as saying, "Whenever I'm in my house or my office, I always have a radio on. It keeps the [[Laser microphone|lasers]] out." After this was reported, a political cartoon by Benson appeared in the ''Arizona Republic'' depicting the governor leaving his house outfitted for [[laser tag]]. When asked about this by reporters, Attorney General Bob Corbin replied in amusement, "We don't have any ray gun pointed at him."{{sfnp|Watkins|1990|pp=270–271}}<ref name="Hawkins"/>

===Economic impact===
Publicity over Mecham's faux pas led to the state experiencing adverse economic effects. Tourism suffered when groups and conventions transferred their meetings out of Arizona. In November 1987, a Phoenix-area convention bureau claimed that Mecham's policies on Martin Luther King Day had caused the cancellation of 45 conventions worth over $25&nbsp;million (~${{Format price|{{Inflation|index=US-GDP|value=25000000|start_year=1987}}}} in {{Inflation/year|US-GDP}}).<ref name="Hull 1987"/> One of these cancellations was a [[National Basketball Association]] convention in Phoenix. In response to the cancellation, Mecham was quoted to say "Well, the N.B.A. I guess they forget how many white people they get coming to watch them play."<ref>{{harvp|Johnson|2002|p=41}}; {{harvp|Watkins|1990|p=127}}</ref>

Public perception of Mecham also slowed down economic development outside the tourism industry. Several corporations looking for locations to build new facilities, including [[US West]] and [[SEMATECH]], expressed concern that the governor's statements might indicate problems in the local business climate. The executive director of the Phoenix Economic Growth Corporation, Ioanna T. Morfessis, stated "When companies look at a state's environment they don't want anything that sounds to them like the state isn't working right." As the controversy surrounding the governor built even the business interests within the state abandoned support for him. As the chairman of the state [[chamber of commerce]], William L. Raby, observed "We usually back Republicans, but he's a different kind of Republican."<ref name="Grover 1987"/>

==Removal efforts==
While criticism plagued Governor Mecham for most of his time in office, it was not until he had been in office for six months that his nominal allies began to break ranks with him. In July 1987, the same month the recall effort officially began, a group of thirteen rank-and-file Republican members of the state legislature met to discuss the governor's image problems. Eleven members of the group, dubbed the ''Dirty Dozen'' by the local press, issued a joint statement critical of many of the governor's efforts.{{sfnp|Watkins|1990|pp=135–137}} Calls for the governor's resignation followed several months afterwards, with former U.S. Senator [[Barry Goldwater]] leading the way on October 9, 1987.<ref name="Weisman"/> As Mecham's problems continued to build, other Arizona political leaders, including Congressman [[Jon Kyl]] and Senator [[John McCain]], made appeals for Mecham to step down, but the governor steadfastly refused to leave office.{{sfnp|Watkins|1990|p=253}}

===Recall drive===
The ''Mecham Watchdog Committee'' was organized in January 1987 and changed its name to the ''Mecham Recall Committee'' in May 1987. Pursuant to the Arizona Constitution, a recall petition may not be circulated against an official unless he has been in office for at least six months, except that a legislator may be recalled after he has been in office for five days.<ref>Ariz. Const. Art. VIII, Part I, Sec. 5.</ref> These petitions needed a number of signatures equal to 25% of votes cast during the official's last election to cause a recall election. On July 6, 1987, the first day that petitions could be circulated, the recall committee began an effort to collect 350,000 signatures, significantly more than the 216,746 signatures required. The recall committee was led by [[Ed Buck]], a registered Republican and gay businessman living in the Phoenix area. In response, Mecham claimed the recall supporters were "a band of homosexuals and dissident Democrats." Mecham supporters printed [[bumper sticker]]s reading "Queer Ed Buck's Recall" after learning of the recall leader's sexual orientation. Mecham also mailed 25,000 letters during September to conservatives nationwide requesting that they move to Arizona and support him in case a recall election were held.<ref name="Weisman"/>{{sfnp|Watkins|1990|pp=127–130, 159–160}}

The recall tended to gather signatures in bursts, with most signatures occurring shortly after some action of the governor offended a segment of the state's voters. Anger toward the governor grew to the point that on August 15, Mecham's appearance at [[Sun Devil Stadium]] before an exhibition [[National Football League|NFL]] game resulted in cries of "Recall! Recall!" combined with catcalls. By mid-September, signatures in excess of the minimum required had been collected at roadside locations despite the 115&nbsp;°F (46&nbsp;°C) afternoon heat of the Arizona summer.<ref name="Weisman"/>{{sfnp|Watkins|1990|pp=143–144}} Signature collection continued for the full 120-day period allowed for by state law. On November 2, the recall committee turned in 32,401 petitions containing 388,988 signatures (more than the 343,913 votes Mecham had received during his election). After the [[Secretary of State (U.S. state government)|Secretary of State]]'s office received the petitions, Mecham refused to waive verification of the signatures, forcing the petitions to be sent to the counties for verification. On January 26, 1988, Secretary of State [[Rose Mofford]] reported to Mecham that 301,032 signatures had been verified—a quantity sufficient to force a recall election.{{sfnp|Watkins|1990|pp=194–195, 274}} A recall election was scheduled for May 17, 1988, and former Republican Congressman [[John Jacob Rhodes|John Rhodes]] agreed to run against Mecham.{{sfnp|Johnson|2002|p=42}}

===Impeachment===
On October 21, 1987, the ''Arizona Republic'' ran a story claiming that Mecham had failed to report a $350,000 loan from local real-estate developer Barry Wolfson to Mecham's election campaign as required by campaign financing laws.{{sfnp|Watkins|1990|p=175}} These claims were added to a [[grand jury]] investigation into allegations that Mecham had loaned $80,000 in public funds to help his auto dealership.<ref>{{harvp|Jennings|1989|p=173}}; {{harvp|Watkins|1990|pp=154–155}}</ref> Upon learning of the alleged Wolfson loan, the Speaker of the state House of Representatives hired a special counsel to investigate the charges.{{sfnp|Watkins|1990|pp=179–182}} The third and final impeachment charge involved an alleged death threat to a government official by Horace Lee Watkins, a Mecham appointee, in November 1987. When Mecham was informed of the threat, it was reported that he instructed the head of the [[Arizona Department of Public Safety]] (DPS) not to provide information on the incident to the attorney general.{{sfnp|Watkins|1990|pp=199–200}}

On January 8, 1988, a grand jury issued indictments against Evan Mecham and Willard Mecham, the Governor's brother and campaign finance manager, charging three counts of [[perjury]], two counts of fraud, and one count of failing to report a campaign contribution. Mecham and his brother faced 22 years in prison if convicted on all charges.{{sfnp|Watkins|1990|p=238}}<ref>{{cite magazine |title=Arizona:Indicting a Wild-Card Governor |magazine=[[Newsweek]] |date=January 8, 1988 |volume=111 |page=31}}</ref> <!--Arraignment for these charges occurred on January 22, 1988.{{sfnp|Watkins|1990|p=238}} -->

The special counsel appointed by the Speaker of the House delivered his report to the House on January 15.{{sfnp|Watkins|1990|p=238}} Based on this report, the House began hearings into possible impeachment proceedings on January 19.{{sfnp|Jennings|1989|p=173}} These resulted in the passing of House Resolution 2002 on February 8 by a vote of 46 to 14.{{sfnp|Watkins|1990|p=301}}<ref name="Hull 1988">{{cite magazine |first=Jon D. |last=Hull |title=An Impeachment Vote in Arizona |magazine=Time |date=February 15, 1988 |volume=131 |page=22 |issn=0040-781X}}</ref> Upon Mecham's impeachment by the House, his powers as governor were suspended and Mofford became acting governor. Arizona has no [[lieutenant governor]], so the [[secretary of state]] stands first in the [[order of succession]] if he or she has been popularly elected.<ref name="Hull 1988"/>

The Arizona State Senate convened as a court of impeachment on February 29.{{sfnp|Watkins|1990|p=320}} Mecham's supporters compared the impeachment trial to the [[crucifixion of Jesus Christ]].<ref name="Coates 1989">{{cite journal |last1=Coates |first1=Karen |title=The Holy War Surrounding Evan Mecham |url=http://www.dialoguejournal.com/wp-content/uploads/sbi/articles/Dialogue_V22N03_68.pdf |journal=Dialogue: A Journal of Mormon Thought |date=1989 |volume=22 |issue=3 |pages=66–80 |doi=10.2307/45225791 |issn=0012-2157 |jstor=45225791|s2cid=254346552 }}</ref> The charges against Mecham in the impeachment trial were obstruction of justice, filing a false statement, and misuse of government funds. The false filings charge was dropped by the Senate on a vote of 16 to 12.{{sfnp|Watkins|1990|pp=346–347}} Arguably, the testimony most damaging to Mecham was his own, during which he repeated his assertion that the legislature had no authority over him, and berated individual legislators.<ref name="Pagán 1988"/> On April 4, the Senate convicted Mecham on obstruction of justice by a vote of 21 to 9, and on misusing government funds by a vote of 26 to 4. The Senate then voted 17 to 12 to disqualify Mecham from holding state office again, but that was short of the two-thirds majority required for passage.{{sfnp|Watkins|1990|pp=354, 356–357}} Upon conviction, Mecham was removed from office and Mofford immediately became governor of Arizona. The recall election was canceled by the [[Arizona Supreme Court]] in a 4 to 1 ruling that the constitutionally mandated order of succession took precedence over the state's recall provisions.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1988/04/13/us/arizona-s-supreme-court-blocks-a-special-gubernatorial-election.html |title=Arizona's Supreme Court Blocks A Special Gubernatorial Election |page=A20 |work=The New York Times |date=April 13, 1988 |url-access=limited}}</ref>

===Acquittal===
The criminal case against Mecham and his brother went to trial on June 2, 1988. Attorneys who analyzed the proceedings later concluded that the Mechams' lawyers' most successful strategy was keeping their clients off the witness stand.<ref>"Defense Strategy, Lack of Evidence Led to Acquittal, Local Lawyers Say", ''Phoenix Gazette'', June 17, 1988, p. A13.</ref> The jury found that prosecutors failed to prove that the Mechams knowingly erred on their campaign reports, and acquitted the brothers on all six felony charges on June 10. 1988.{{sfnp|Watkins|1990|p=367}}

==Later life and legacy==
[[File:Phoenix-National Memorial Cemetery-Evan Mecham.jpg|thumb|Grave site of Mecham (1924–2008) and his wife, Florence (1925–2012)]]
Following his removal from office and acquittal in his criminal trial, Mecham remained active in politics for several years. He served as an at-large delegate to the [[1988 Republican National Convention]] at the [[Louisiana Superdome]] in [[New Orleans, Louisiana]], in August 1988.<ref>{{cite news |title=Mecham Wins Spot at G.O.P. Convention |work=The New York Times |date=May 15, 1988 |page=A22}}</ref> Two years later in 1990, he made an unsuccessful attempt to regain the Arizona governor's office. In 1992, he received one nomination vote for [[President of the United States]] at the [[Constitution Party National Convention]], and [[United States Senate election in Arizona, 1992|ran for the U.S. Senate]] as an independent against incumbent [[John McCain]], receiving 145,361 votes (10.52%). In 1995, Mecham became chairman of the Constitutionalist Networking Center, a group attempting to create a grassroots organization called the Constitutionally Unified Republic for Everybody (CURE). CURE advocated political candidates supporting a strict interpretation of the [[United States Constitution]].<ref name="Dougherty"/>

Mecham spent several years attempting to start a new newspaper, but was unable to secure sufficient financial backing.<ref>{{cite news |first=David |last=Pasztor |title=Ev's Latest Inkling Mecham Still Longs to be a Newspaper Tycoon |newspaper=Phoenix New Times |date=December 15, 1993 |url=http://www.phoenixnewtimes.com/issues/1993-12-15/news3.html |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20050507203117/http://www.phoenixnewtimes.com/issues/1993-12-15/news3.html |archive-date=May 7, 2005 |df=mdy-all}}</ref> In 1999, Mecham wrote his third book, ''Wrongful Impeachment''. Declining health, including [[Alzheimer's disease]] and [[Parkinson's disease]], first reported in 2004, forced Mecham's withdrawal from the public arena and his commitment to the [[dementia]] unit of the [[Arizona Department of Veterans' Services|Arizona State Veterans' Home]] in Phoenix.<ref name="dementia">{{cite news |title=Ex-Arizona governor Evan Mecham shows symptoms of dementia |agency=Associated Press |date=October 20, 2004 |url=http://www.kvoa.com/global/story.asp?s=2457101&ClientType=Print |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20041026053210/http://www.kvoa.com/Global/story.asp?S=2457101 |archive-date=October 26, 2004 |df=mdy-all}}</ref> He died on February 21, 2008, in [[Glendale, Arizona]], four years after the diagnosis,<ref name="WashPost obit"/><ref name="AZrepub obit">{{cite news |last=Flannery |first=Pat |title=Former Arizona Gov. Evan Mecham has died |publisher=The Arizona Republic |date=February 22, 2008}}</ref> and is interred at the [[National Memorial Cemetery of Arizona]] in Phoenix. His wife, who died four years later in 2012, was buried alongside him.<ref name="Interment">{{cite news |title=Services for former Gov. Evan Mecham Saturday in Glendale |work=Arizona Daily Star |date=February 27, 2008 |url=http://www.azstarnet.com/sn/hourlyupdate/227161.php |archive-url=https://archive.today/20130118024644/http://www.azstarnet.com/sn/hourlyupdate/227161.php |url-status=dead |archive-date=January 18, 2013}}</ref>

The canceled [[Martin Luther King Day]] served as a point of controversy for years following Mecham's removal from gubernatorial office. In 1989, the Arizona legislature designated a MLK holiday by canceling the state's [[Columbus Day]] holiday; this was challenged by two different groups, one a [[Conservatism in the United States|conservative]] group opposed to the King holiday due to King's [[Communism|communist]] ties and the other composed of [[Italian-Americans]] opposed to the removal of the Columbus Day holiday. So the new public holiday was forced to undergo a referendum of voter approval.<ref>{{cite news |title=Arizona Holiday for Dr. King May Face Ballot Test in 1990 |work=The New York Times |page=A28 |date=September 26, 1989}}</ref> Neither of the two competing ballot initiatives during the 1990 state election—one removing the [[Columbus Day]] holiday to make way for a new MLK day holiday, the other to add an extra paid holiday to the state calendar—obtained a required majority even though 65% of voters supported at least one form of the holiday.<!--<ref name="Gross"> --> In response to the voters' rejection of a King holiday, the Arizona state [[tourism]] officials estimated that concert and convention business worth $190&nbsp;million dollars were canceled and the [[National Football League]] moved [[Super Bowl XXVII]], worth an estimated $150&nbsp;million that year, from the state, to [[Pasadena, California]]. Another initiative in 1992 succeeded in creation of a statewide MLK day holiday (without removing the earlier Columbus Day from the calendar).<ref name="Gross">{{cite news |first=Jane |last=Gross |title=Arizona Hopes Holiday for King Will Mend Its Image; People are still embarrassed by a former governor. |work=The New York Times |page=16 |date=January 17, 1993}}</ref> Afterwards, the NFL awarded the subsequent 1996 [[Super Bowl XXX]] to Arizona.

Arizona's election laws were also affected by Mecham's governorship legacy. In 1988, Arizona voters passed an election initiative that amended the [[Arizona Constitution|Arizona state constitution]] to require a subsequent [[runoff election]] when no candidate received a majority of the votes cast in a general election.<ref>{{cite web |title=State of Arizona Official Canvass – General Election |date=November 8, 1988 |publisher=Arizona Secretary of State |url=http://www.azsos.gov/election/1988/General/Canvass1988GE.pdf |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130920214808/http://azsos.gov/election/1988/General/Canvass1988GE.pdf |archive-date=September 20, 2013}}</ref> This runoff requirement came into play only two years later in the 1990 election of [[Fife Symington III]],<ref>{{cite web |title=State of Arizona Official Canvass – General Election |date=November 6, 1990 |publisher=Arizona Secretary of State |url=http://www.azsos.gov/election/1990/General/Canvass1990GE.pdf |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090314042617/https://www.azsos.gov/election/1990/General/Canvass1990GE.pdf |archive-date=March 14, 2009}}</ref> who received more votes than Democratic candidate [[Terry Goddard]] but fell just shy of a majority because of a minor independent candidate also on the ballot. The constitutional amendment requiring the runoff was repealed by the voters only two years later in 1992.<ref>{{cite web |title=State of Arizona Official Canvass – General Election |date=November 3, 1992 |publisher=Arizona Secretary of State |url=http://www.azsos.gov/election/1992/General/Canvass1992GE.pdf |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090314042829/https://www.azsos.gov/election/1992/General/Canvass1992GE.pdf |archive-date=March 14, 2009}}</ref>

Former Governor Mecham's earlier [[press secretary]] argued, in retrospect, that his overriding legacy was unfair:<blockquote>The tragic fact ... is that Mecham will be remembered as an incompetent, bumbling bigot who got what he deserved. But ... he had some charming personal qualities. He had a genuine interest in helping the disadvantaged. He understood economic development far better than his predecessor, [[Bruce Babbitt]], or his successor, [[Rose Mofford]]. He believed in economic equality for all races and minorities, arguing this would be necessary before political and social equality could be achieved. He was deeply troubled by rampant drug abuse. And, his pet project this year [1988] would have been a statewide campaign to help illiterate adults learn to read. This side of Mecham was lost in a fog of controversy that he helped create.<ref>Smith, KV. Mecham ignored advice, created own road to ruin. [[Mesa Tribune|Mesa ''Tribune'']], May 15, 1988, p. B1</ref></blockquote>

==Publications==
* {{cite book <!--|author=Mecham, Evan--> |title=Come Back America |publisher=MP Press |location=Glendale, Ariz. |year=1982 |oclc=9589917}}
* {{cite book <!--|author=Mecham, Evan--> |title=Impeachment: The Arizona Conspiracy |publisher=MP Press |location=Glendale, Ariz. |year=1988 |oclc=18761566}}
* {{cite book <!--|author=Mecham, Evan--> |title=Wrongful Impeachment |publisher=Prime News Press |year=1999 |isbn=978-1-929360-00-0 |url-access=registration |url=https://archive.org/details/wrongfulimpeachm00evan}}

==Notes==
{{reflist|30em}}

==References==
* {{cite book |last=Jennings |first=Marianne M. |chapter=Evan Mecham |editor=Myers, John L. |title=The Arizona governors, 1912–1990 |year=1989 |publisher=Heritage Publishers |location=Phoenix |isbn=0-929690-05-2 |pages=168–174 |chapter-url=https://archive.org/details/arizonagovernors0000unse/page/169/mode/1up?view=theater |chapter-url-access=registration}}
* {{cite book |last=Johnson |first=James W. |others=illustrations by David 'Fitz' Fitzsimmons |title=Arizona Politicians: The Noble and the Notorious |year=2002 |publisher=University of Arizona Press |isbn=0-8165-2203-0}}
* {{cite book |last=Watkins |first=Ronald J. |date=1990 |title=High Crimes and Misdemeanors: The Term and Trials of Former Governor Evan Mecham |publisher=William Morrow & Co. |location=New York |isbn=978-0-688-09051-7 |url=https://archive.org/details/highcrimesmisdem0000watk/page/n6/mode/1up?view=theater |url-access=registration}}

==Further reading==
* {{cite book |last1=Bellus |first1=Ronald J. |title=Mecham: Silence Cannot Be Misquoted |date=1988 |publisher=Laurent's Printing & Services |location=Phoenix |isbn=978-0-9295-7200-0}}
* {{cite magazine |title='Doonesbury' in Arizona |magazine=Newsweek |date=September 14, 1987 |volume=110 |pages=41}}
* “Arizona rejects 'Marx Brothers' rule”, ''[[The Times]]'', October 22, 1987. <!-- {{citenews |title=Arizona rejects 'Marx Brothers' rule |date=October 22, 1987 |org=The Times |url=http://}} -->
* {{cite magazine |author=Peter Goudinoff & Sheila Tobias |title=Arizona Airhead |magazine=[[The New Republic]] |date=October 26, 1987 |volume=197 |pages=15–16}}
* {{cite magazine |author=James N. Baker, Randy Collier |title=Evan Mecham's Phoenix Follies |magazine=Newsweek |date=March 14, 1988 |volume=111 |pages=23}}
* {{cite magazine |author=Alleen Pace Nilsen |title=What did Evan Mecham ask the Pope? – the jokes that impeached a governor |magazine=[[Washington Monthly]] |date=May 1988 |volume=20 |pages=21 |url=http://www.findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m1316/is_n4_v20/ai_6676339 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071103074521/http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m1316/is_n4_v20/ai_6676339 |url-status=dead |archive-date=November 3, 2007}}
* {{cite magazine |author=Kenneth V. Smith |title=The resurrection of Evan Mecham |magazine=[[National Review]] |date=May 1989 |volume=41 |pages=42–43 |url=http://www.kensmith.us/2009/05/a-holy-political-war-in-arizona.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090708001748/http://www.kensmith.us/2009/05/a-holy-political-war-in-arizona.html |archive-date=July 8, 2009 |url-status=dead}}
* {{cite news |last=Kiser |first=Jim |title=Mecham lesson: Beware of overconfident politicians |date=October 24, 2004 |work=Arizona Daily Star |url=http://www.azstarnet.com/sn/kiser/44696.php |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070929091317/http://www.azstarnet.com/sn/kiser/44696.php |archive-date=September 29, 2007 |df=mdy-all}}
* {{cite news |last=Garcia |first=Joseph |title=Let me tell you why I've always been fond of Evan Mecham |date=October 25, 2004 |publisher=Tucson Citizen |url=http://www.tucsoncitizen.com/news/local/102504a4_garcia |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060627093805/http://www.tucsoncitizen.com/news/local/102504a4_garcia |url-status=dead |archive-date=June 27, 2006}}

==External links==
{{wikiquote}}
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20060213231222/http://jeff.scott.tripod.com/mecham.html Governor Evan Mecham] from Arizona History Reference Guides
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20060212064015/http://www.lib.az.us/links/Kingholiday.cfm Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Holiday] from [https://web.archive.org/web/20050924040815/http://lib.az.us/index.cfm Arizona State Library, Archives and Public Records].
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20090706073045/http://www.kensmith.us/ Materials regarding the impeachment of Governor Evan Mecham] Ken Smith
* {{C-SPAN|1089}}

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{{s-ttl|title=[[Republican Party (United States)|Republican]] nominee for [[United States Senator|U.S. Senator]] from [[Arizona]]<br>([[Classes of United States senators|Class 3]])|years=[[1962 United States Senate election in Arizona|1962]]}}
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{{s-ttl|title=[[Republican Party (United States)|Republican]] nominee for [[List of Governors of Arizona|Governor of Arizona]]|years=[[1978 Arizona gubernatorial election|1978]]}}
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{{s-ttl|title=[[Republican Party (United States)|Republican]] nominee for [[List of Governors of Arizona|Governor of Arizona]]|years=[[1986 Arizona gubernatorial election|1986]]}}
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{{Governors of Arizona}}
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[[Category:1924 births]]
[[Category:2008 deaths]]
[[Category:20th-century American businesspeople]]
[[Category:20th-century American far-right politicians]]
[[Category:American automobile salespeople]]
[[Category:American leaders of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints]]
[[Category:American prisoners of war in World War II]]
[[Category:American World War II fighter pilots]]
[[Category:Arizona Constitutionalists]]
[[Category:Arizona independents]]
[[Category:Arizona politicians convicted of crimes]]
[[Category:Arizona Republicans]]
[[Category:Arizona state senators]]
[[Category:Arizona State University alumni]]
[[Category:Businesspeople from Arizona]]
[[Category:Businesspeople from Utah]]
[[Category:Deaths from Alzheimer's disease in Arizona]]
[[Category:Deaths from Parkinson's disease in Arizona]]
[[Category:Impeached state and territorial governors of the United States removed from office]]
[[Category:Jeffersonian democracy]]
[[Category:Latter Day Saints from Arizona]]
[[Category:Military personnel from Utah]]
[[Category:People from Duchesne County, Utah]]
[[Category:People from Duchesne, Utah]]
[[Category:People from Glendale, Arizona]]
[[Category:Recalled American politicians]]
[[Category:Recipients of the Air Medal]]
[[Category:Republican Party governors of Arizona]]
[[Category:Shot-down aviators]]
[[Category:United States Army Air Forces officers]]
[[Category:United States Army Air Forces pilots of World War II]]
[[Category:Utah State University alumni]]
[[Category:World War II prisoners of war held by Germany]]
[[Category:20th-century members of the Arizona State Legislature]]