Rose Mofford

Range of Years Served: 
1977-1988
Party: 
Democrat
Served as Secretary of State: Oct. 20, 1977 – April 5, 1988 Born: June 10, 1922, Globe, Gila County, Ariz. Mofford was appointed on Oct. 20, 1977, to the office of Arizona Secretary of State by Gov. Wesley Bolin who succeeded to the governorship upon the resignation of Gov. Raul Castro who had been appointed U.S. Ambassador to Argentina. Secretary Mofford was elected to the office in the Nov. 7, 1978, General Election and was re-elected in 1982 and 1986. Mofford was the first woman elected as secretary of state. Rose Mofford succeeded to the governorship upon the impeachment and Arizona State Senate conviction of Gov. Evan Mecham on April 5, 1988.

Biography

Name:  Rose Mofford née Perica

Name as Secretary of State:   Rose Mofford

Notes: Although Rose Mofford was Arizona Secretary of State when Gov. Wesley Bolin died on March 4, 1978, she was not eligible to succeed to the Governorship since she had been appointed to the office, not elected.  Rose Mofford succeeded to the Governorship from the office of Arizona Secretary of State on April 5, 1988 due to the impeachment and Arizona State Senate conviction of Gov. Evan Mecham and she served until March 6, 1991 when the results of the 1990 runoff election for Governor became final.  Gov. Mofford had declined to run for the office.

Other Offices: Arizona Governor: Served:  April 5, 1988 – March 6, 1991

Education:  Globe High School, Globe, Gila Co., Arizona:  valedictorian

Occupations:  Secretary and later executive secretary to the Hon. Joe Hunt, who was Arizona State Treasurer and later with the Arizona State Tax Commission; business manager for Arizona Highways; worked for the Office of the Arizona Secretary of State for 22 years; assistant director, Arizona Department of Revenue, 1975 – 1977

Firsts: First female class president, Globe High School, Globe, Ariz.  First woman elected to the office of Arizona Secretary of State.  First woman governor of Arizona.

Notable: “An athlete herself, Mofford was 17 in 1939 when she was picked to play first base for the Arizona Cantaloupe Queens in an exhibition game at New York's Madison Square Garden.  A member of the Arizona Softball Hall of Fame, she has municipal fields named after her.”  (Bland, Karina. "A Heart as Big as Her Hairdo."  The Arizona Republic, March 27, 2011, p. E 1)

Sources:  Jennings, Marianne M.  "Rose Mofford," in John L. Myers, ed., The Arizona Governors 1912-1990.  Phoenix, Arizona:  Heritage Publishers, Inc. 1989, pp. pp. 177-184; misc. notes compiled on SOS succession to governorship.