Gary L. Pierce

Biographical Information

Rep. Marilyn Jarrett resigned her House seat on September 12, 2001 and was sworn in on September 12, 2001 to fill the Senate seat left vacant by the resignation of Russell Bowers.  She was replaced by Gary Pierce who was appointed and sworn in on September 24, 2001 (Journal of the Arizona House of Representatives, 45th Legislature, 2001, pp. vi, v).  In the November 7, 2006 General Election, Hon. Gary Pierce was elected to a seat on the Arizona Corporation Commission.  The following is his biography from the Corporation Commission site:

Chairman Gary Pierce:
Gary Pierce was born in Illinois and raised in Mesa, Arizona.  He graduated from Mesa High School.  A track scholarship took him to Mesa Community College then transferring to Arizona State University, he graduated in 1974 with a Bachelors Degree in Education.

Pierce taught at Mesa’s Taft Elementary School with a career in the automobile business following his teaching experience.  After managing dealerships for four years in Sierra Vista, he moved to Yuma and became a Honda and Nissan dealer.  Pierce also owned a Shell Gas Station and Budget Rent-A-Car franchise. The Pierce family moved back to Mesa 1998.

Gary Pierce was twice elected to the Yuma County Board of Supervisors and served in the Arizona House of Representatives from District 19 (North/East Mesa) from 2001 thru 2006.  In 2005 and 2006 he served as Majority Whip.  He served on a number of legislative committees including Environment; Natural Resources and Agriculture; and as Chairman of Transportation.  Commissioner Pierce previously served on the Arizona Housing Commission, the Maricopa County Planning and Zoning Commission and the Maricopa County Department of Transportation Advisory Board.

In January of 2004, Representative Pierce sponsored HB2456, which authorized Maricopa County to call an election for a twenty year extension of the half-cent sales tax to fund transportation.  The Regional Transportation Plan was placed on the November ballot, as Proposition 400.  That measure passed, ensuring the resources to continue construction of our freeways with the goal to build a complete transportation system in Maricopa County.

 Commissioner Pierce has been married to Sherry, a Mesa native, for 37 years and they have four sons, four daughters-in-law and nine grandchildren.

The Commissioner served as an Assistant Scoutmaster with his son’s Boy Scouts of America troop and all four of his sons are Eagle Scouts.

Gary Pierce was barred by term limits from running for Corporation Commissioner in 2014.

Education

Bachelors: Education, Arizona State University, 1974

Additional Information

LEGISLATIVE FAMILY:  The Honorable Gary Pierce is the father of Rep. Justin Pierce  

Employment

Arizona Legislative Service

Sources

Birth: 2001 Guide to the 45th Legislature (green book); Occupation(s) 2006 Guide to the 47th Legislature (green book) and Arizona Corporation Commission biography

Education: 2006 Guide to the Legislature (Greenbook)