Wesley Bolin

Wesley Bolin
15th Governor of Arizona
In office October 20, 1977 – March 4, 1978
Preceded by	Raul Hector Castro
Succeeded by	Bruce Babbitt
11th Secretary of State of Arizona
In office January 3, 1949 – October 20, 1977
Governor	Dan Edward Garvey John Howard Pyle Ernest McFarland Paul Fannin Samuel Pearson Goddard, Jr. Jack Williams Raul Hector Castro
Preceded by	Curtis M. Williams
Succeeded by	Rose Perica Mofford
Personal details
Born	July 1, 1909 near Butler, Missouri
Died	March 4, 1978 (aged 68) Phoenix, Arizona
Resting place	Arizona State Capitol Grounds Phoenix, Arizona
Political party	Democratic
Spouse(s)	Marion Elizabeth Wallinder
Children	5
Alma mater	Phoenix College
Profession	Business
Religion	Congregationalist

Wesley Bolin (July 1, 1909 – March 4, 1978) was a Democratic Party politician who served as the 15th Governor of the U.S. state of Arizona between 1977 and 1978. His five months in office mark the shortest term in office for any Arizona governor.

Life and career

A view of the Wesley Bolin Memorial Plaza

Born on a farm near Butler, Missouri, Bolin moved with his family to Phoenix, Arizona, at the age of six. He worked with several business firms in the Salt River Valley before being elected constable of West Phoenix Precinct in 1938. From 1943 until 1948, Bolin was justice of the peace of the West Phoenix Precinct court.

Bolin served as Arizona's secretary of state for a total of 28 years, 9 months, 18 days (or 10,518 days), and remains the longest-serving secretary of state in Arizona history.^[1] He was first elected to the state's second highest-post in 1948 and was re-elected every two years between 1950 and 1968, when executive offices had two-year terms, and twice more in 1970 and 1974, when four-year terms began. Only in his last three runs did he encounter significant challenges, culminating in him almost losing his thirteenth campaign in 1974.

He succeeded to the governorship after the previous governor, Raul Hector Castro, was named ambassador to Argentina by President Jimmy Carter. Under the Arizona Constitution, the secretary of state, if he or she was elected to that position, is first in line to fill a vacancy in the governorship. Bolin was the second secretary of state to succeed to the Arizona governorship, after Dan Edward Garvey in 1948.

Bolin died in office at the age of 68 on March 4, 1978 and was succeeded by Attorney General Bruce Babbitt. Rose Mofford had been appointed by Bolin to finish his term as secretary of state, and thus was ineligible to succeed Bolin until she was elected to the office. Babbitt, being second in line and an elected official, finished the remaining nine months of the term and then was elected to two terms as governor in his own right.

The Wesley Bolin Memorial Plaza near the capitol in Phoenix, Arizona, was named after him, and has been designated as a Phoenix Point of Pride.^[2]

References

1. Arizona Secretaries of State Since Statehood
2. "Phoenix Points of Pride". Retrieved October 18, 2006.

External links

• National Governors Association