David Gowan
Member of the Arizona Senate
from the 19th district
Assumed office
January 9, 2023
Preceded byLupe Contreras
Member of the Arizona Senate
from the 14th district
In office
January 14, 2019 – January 9, 2023
Preceded byGail Griffin
Succeeded byWarren Petersen
52nd Speaker of the Arizona House of Representatives
In office
January 12, 2015 – January 9, 2017
Preceded byAndy Tobin
Succeeded byJ. D. Mesnard
Member of the Arizona House of Representatives
from the 14th district
30th (2009–2013)
In office
January 14, 2013 – January 9, 2017
Serving with David Stevens
Preceded byJonathan Paton
Succeeded byBecky Nutt
Personal details
Political partyRepublican
Alma materUniversity of Arizona
WebsiteCampaign website

David M. Gowan Sr.[1] is an American politician who currently serves in the Arizona Senate from January 14, 2019, and previously as Speaker of the Arizona House of Representatives for the 2015–2017 legislative session and a Representative for Legislative District 14 from January 14, 2013, to January 9, 2017.[2] Gowan served consecutively from January 2009 until January 14, 2013 in the District 30 seat which redistricted into District 14 in 2012. In 2013, he was elected Majority Leader of the Republican Party in the House of Representatives. In 2015, Gowan was elected to serve as Speaker of the House. On October 5, 2015, Gowan announced his candidacy for Arizona's 1st congressional district, but withdrew before the Republican primary.[3]

Career before politics

Prior to entering politics, Gowan was a magazine distributor and karate instructor.[4]

Political career

Gowan made three unsuccessful bids for elected office before gaining election to the state Legislature.[4] He was first elected to the Arizona House of Representatives in 2008, representing Legislative District 30 which encompassed a large part of Southern Arizona, primarily Santa Cruz County, Arizona.[5] Between 2009–2010 he served as Vice Chair of the Military Affairs and Public Safety Committee. In 2010, he sponsored and introduced the House version of Arizona SB 1070.[6]

In 2013 he was elected as Majority Leader of the Republican Caucus.[4]

In late 2013, Gowan was one of a number of Republican lawmakers, represented by the Goldwater Institute who sued Governor Jan Brewer in an attempt to block the state's acceptance of Medicaid expansion under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act. The Arizona Supreme Court ultimately rejected the suit (originally called Biggs v. Cooper and then Biggs v. Betlach) in 2017.[7][8][9] Gowan maneuvered to oust fellow Republican Bob Robson from the chairmanship of the powerful Rules Committee due to Robson's support for Medicaid expansion.[4]

In the 2015 legislative session he was chosen as Speaker of the Arizona House of Representatives.[10] In the internal party race for the position, he defeated J.D. Mesnard and Eddie Farnsworth, and became the first state House speaker from southern Arizona in more than 30 years.[4]

During his tenure as Speaker, Gowan faced controversy including for spending House funds on redecorating.[10]

In 2016, the Arizona Capitol Times revealed that Gowan had used a state vehicle while campaigning, collected per diem pay while campaigning and not conducting governmental business, and received mileage reimbursements while driving a state vehicle.[11] Gowan denied any intentional violation of the law, and repaid the state more than $12,000 after his use of travel funds was publicly reported.[11] Gowan referred himself to the Arizona Attorney General's Office; in a memorandum released in 2017, the AG's Office decided not to pursue charges, concluding that although the "substantial disregard for determining whether state funds for per diem, mileage and official travel were paid pursuant to proper authority" was potentially a violation of state law, "the violations were not undertaken knowingly or intentionally but were instead attributable to negligence" and therefore did not meet the criminal intent standard for a prosecution.[12]

As state House speaker, Gowan generated controversy in April 2016 for revoking access of reporters to the House floor unless they agreed to an extensive criminal and civil background check. The publisher of the Arizona Capitol Times suggested that Gowan's change in the rule was in retaliation for its investigative journalism.[11] After the sudden changes in the rules was criticized by the press corps, Gowan rescinded his directive.[11][10] Gowan's former press aide, Stephanie Grisham, later became a confidant to Melania and Donald Trump, and White House press secretary during the Trump administration.[13]

In 2016, Gowan sought the Republican nomination for the seat in the U.S. House of Representatives from the Arizona's 1st congressional district, but withdrew shortly before the Republican primary and endorsed Gary Kiehne.[14]

In 2018, Gowan ran for and won seat in the Legislative District 14 seat in the Arizona Senate, succeeding Gail Griffin.[15]

In 2020, Gowan sponsored legislation to change the Arizona Corporation Commission (the state's public utilities regulator) from being an elected body to being a body appointed by the governor with confirmation by the state Senate.[16]

In 2021, Gowan sponsored legislation that would allow the Arizona state Legislature to override election results; he later dropped the bill.[17]

Personal life

Gowan graduated from the University of Arizona with a degree in Secondary Education and Social Studies. He is currently married with two children and lives in Sierra Vista, Arizona.

References

  1. ↑ "David M. Gowan Sr". Phoenix, Arizona: Arizona State Legislature. Retrieved January 2, 2014.
  2. ↑ "David Gowan's Biography". Project Vote Smart. Retrieved January 2, 2014.
  3. ↑ Sander, Rebekah L. "Arizona House Speaker Gowan enters race for Congress". AZCentral. Retrieved July 1, 2016.
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 Hank Stephenson, A man with a plan: David Gowan defies the odds to become speaker of the House, Arizona Capitol Times (December 1, 2014).
  5. ↑ Arizona State Legislature. "Member Roster". Arizona State Legislature. Archived from the original on May 3, 2009. Retrieved June 1, 2016.
  6. ↑ Arizona State Legislature. "SB 1070". Arizona State Legislature. Retrieved July 1, 2016.
  7. ↑ "Complaint in Biggs v. Brewer" (PDF). Arizona Superior Court. Retrieved July 1, 2016.
  8. ↑ Biggs v. Betlach, 404 P. 3d 1243 (Ariz. 2017).
  9. ↑ Joseph Flaherty, Arizona Supreme Court Upholds Medicaid Expansion in Blow to GOP Challenge, Phoenix New Times (November 17, 2017).
  10. 1 2 3 Santos, Fernanda (April 16, 2016). "Speaker David Gowan Reshapes Arizona House, From the Carpets on Up". The New York Times. Retrieved July 1, 2016.
  11. 1 2 3 4 Bob Christie, Arizona lawmaker drops ban on journalists who refuse checks, Associated Press (April 12, 2016).
  12. ↑ Paul Davenport, Arizona AG: No prosecution of ex-speaker after expense probe, Associated Press (July 18, 2017).
  13. ↑ Darlene Superville, First lady's spokeswoman to be White House press secretary, Associated Press (June 25, 2019).
  14. ↑ David Bell, Gowan drops out of Congressional race, East Arizona Courier (August 11, 2016).
  15. ↑ Hank Stephenson, Despite checkered past, David Gowan leads in Arizona's LD14 Senate race, Arizona Daily Star (August 28, 2018).
  16. ↑ Jonathan J. Cooper, Arizona lawmaker wants appointed utility commission, Associated Press (February 10, 2020).
  17. ↑ Howard Fischer, Southern Arizona legislator dumps bill to let lawmakers override election results, Capitol Media Services (February 25, 2021).
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