Chapter 0099 - 452R - H Ver of SB1164

House Engrossed

State of Arizona

House of Representatives

Forty-fifth Legislature

Second Regular Session

2002

HOUSE CONCURRENT RESOLUTION 2043

A CONCURRENT RESOLUTION

on the death of the honorable paul j. fannin.

(TEXT OF BILL BEGINS ON NEXT PAGE)

Former Arizona governor and United States Senator Paul Fannin passed away on January 13, 2002 at the age of ninety-four.

Born on January 29, 1907 in Ashland, Kentucky, Paul Fannin moved with his family to Phoenix shortly after he was born. He attended elementary schools and high school in Phoenix before going on to graduate from Stanford University with a bachelor's degree in business administration. He worked in the family hardware business in Phoenix before starting the Fannin Gas and Equipment Company with his brother, Ernest. Through their hard work and dedication, the company, which distributed propane gas, grew steadily and expanded into New Mexico, Idaho and Mexico. Paul Fannin gained recognition throughout the state as a successful businessman and he also learned much about the problems and hopes of the Arizona people — knowledge that would prove valuable to him in his future political endeavors.

In 1956 the brothers sold the company and just two years later Paul Fannin embarked on a career in public service that would last nearly two decades. With no prior political experience, he was elected as Arizona's eleventh governor in 1958 in an unexpected upset against the state's then attorney general. Sincere, modest and persuasive, he soon earned the trust and respect of his peers despite being a Republican in a solidly Democratic state with a Democratic Legislature. Among his many accomplishments as governor, Paul Fannin was instrumental in the development of the state's community college system and in the growth of the state's university system, and he assisted in the establishment of the state's first medical school at the University of Arizona. One of his major contributions to education during his first year as governor was to make average daily attendance current rather than based on the previous year's figures. He sought to attract industry to Arizona, fought to devote money to schools and championed statewide tax equalization. Paul Fannin worked diligently to improve relations between Arizona and Mexico through the establishment of the Arizona-Sonora West Coast Trade Commission, the forerunner of today's Arizona-Mexico Commission.

Paul Fannin served as Arizona's governor until 1964, when he was elected to the United States Senate seat that Barry Goldwater vacated to run for president. As a Senator, he played a key role in keeping in the Taft‑Hartley Act a provision that permits states to incorporate into state law the right-to-work principle. Paul Fannin was a key player in a bipartisan effort to establish the Central Arizona Project, the canal that delivers Colorado River water to Phoenix and Tucson and that is considered to be the most important public works project in the history of Arizona in terms of water supply. The Fannin McFarland Central Arizona Project aqueduct was named for his work in establishing the Project. Other issues he sought to advance included energy issues, foreign trade and Indian health and education, and he ably served his constituents in Washington, D.C. until his retirement in 1977. Throughout his distinguished political career, Paul Fannin earned the well-deserved reputation as a hard-working, effective and dependable individual and he earned the respect and admiration of his peers on both sides of the political aisle.

Despite the demands of his business and political careers, Paul Fannin was also active throughout his life in various community service and charitable endeavors. He was involved in the Phoenix Thunderbirds, served as a pitcher for the Funk Jewels softball team and was a founding member of the Arizona Country Club. After leaving the Senate, Paul Fannin remained active in the issues that were important to him through his efforts to promote the development of geothermal, wind and solar energy sources and through his service on the Central Arizona Water Conservation Board for six years. He was honored as the 2001 Historymaker by the Arizona Historical Society.

Paul Fannin was dedicated to his late wife, Elma, to whom he was married for sixty-seven years, and to his four children, Linda, Tom, Bob and Bill, ten grandchildren and nine great-grandchildren. He will be deeply missed by his family, many friends and the people of the State of Arizona.

Therefore

Be it resolved by the House of Representatives of the State of Arizona, the Senate concurring:

That the Members of the Legislature sincerely regret the passing of the Honorable Paul Fannin and extend their deepest sympathies to his surviving family members.