Mecham Can Run for Office, Atty. Gen. Says

Former Gov. Evan Mecham, convicted last year by the state Senate of obstructing an investigation, can legally run for any public office in Arizona, including governor, in 1990, Atty. Gen. Bob Corbin said Friday.

Corbin said his office researched the state Constitution and state laws governing impeachment and concluded that Mecham’s 1988 impeachment and Senate conviction did not disqualify him from future public office.

“He does have the right to run for any office he sees fit, including governor in 1990,” Corbin said. The attorney general’s opinions are not binding and Corbin said he would welcome a court challenge to his views.

Mecham’s attorney, Donald MacPherson, who earlier indicated that he would take the question to the Arizona Supreme Court regardless of Corbin’s opinion, said he has decided against that. MacPherson urged anyone who might want to challenge Mecham’s candidacy to do it soon and not wait until late in the 1990 campaign.

MacPherson also said Mecham will pursue in the courts his efforts to void his impeachment and Senate conviction.

Mecham was removed from office April 4, 1988, when the Senate convicted him of obstructing an investigation into an aide’s alleged death threat and illegally loaning state money to his Glendale automobile dealership.

On the first anniversary of his ouster, Mecham announced that he would seek the Republican gubernatorial nomination again.

When the Senate convicted Mecham of impeachable offenses, it voted on the so-called Dracula clause, which would have barred Mecham from running again for any public office. The clause was approved by a simple majority, but in setting rules for the impeachment trial, the Senate had stipulated that a two-thirds majority vote would be required to invoke it.