Governor
Paul J. Fannin
(1959-1965)
"For a man who never seriously considered a career in public service until he was age 50, Paul Fannin rose to amazing heights in state and national politics. He and his brother Ernest launched a butane gas business in the depths of the Depression, and survived some difficult early years to build one of Arizona's most successful companies in that field.
Convinced that Arizona needed a businessman in the governorship, he ran on the Republican ticket in 1958 and won. He became extermely popular with the Arizona electorate, and was re-elected in both 1960 and 1962. As governor, he worked for real estate tax equalization, for increased state aid to public schols, and for improved relations with Mexico. In 1964 he ran successfully for the US Senate and was re-elected in 1970.
Paul Jones Fannin was born at Ashland, Kentucky, January 19, 1907. While still an infant, he moved with his family to Phoenix for his father's health. At Phoenix Union High School, he was a member of a student body that produced many future Arizona leaders, among them Barry and Bob Goldwater, Harry Rosenzweig, Reg Manning, and Jack Williams. Fannin attended the University of Arizona and then Stanford University, where he earned his Bachelor of Arts degree in 1930. He returned to Phoenix to enter his family's hardware business, but left it to join his brother in establishing the Fannin Gas and Supply Company, for which he served as president for more than 20 years. In Phoenix, Fannin became known for his dedicated community service, in the Chamber of Commerce, in the Thunderbird, industrial development projects, and in charitable activities. Aided by his boyhood friend, Sen. Barry Goldwater, he launched his first gubernatorial campaign in 1958 and own by a margin of 30,000 votes. In 1960 he won re-election by a 75,000 vote plurality, and in 1962 his margin of victory was 35,000 votes. One of Arizona's greatest periods of business and industrial development took place during Governor Fannin's tenure in office."
Goff, John F. Arizona
Biographical Dictionary. Black Mountain Press. Cave Creek,
Arizona 1983.
p. 271
Websites
Obituary for Paul Fannin
http://www.azgop.org/news/January%202002/SenFannin.htm
The Office of Governor in Arizona / Paul Fannin ... [et al.]
ASU
11.3:P 16/7
Paul Fannin Papers
Located at the Arizona Historical
Foundation
Biography of Paul Fannin
CB BIO FAN,PAU
Another Dimension To Arizona's Search For Water, 1967
FE EPH Q-39
