Stephen Alex Spear
General Information
- Stephen A. Spear
- Male
- September 7, 1897
- Loveland, Larimer Co., CO, USA
- August 16, 1972
- Phoenix, Maricopa Co., AZ, USA
Legislative Resolution
View Legislative Resolution File for Stephen Alex SpearBiographical Information
Stephen A. Spear, in a letter dated November 20, 1934, resigned from the Arizona House of Representatives to accept appointment by President Franklin D. Roosevelt as state director of the National Emergency Council. He was replaced by V. A. Reichard as Representative for Yavapai District 1 and Rep. William George Rosenbaum was elected Speaker. (Journal of the House of Representatives, 11th Legislature, 3rd Special Session, 1934, pp. 11-12). The following is from the Legislative death resolution:
On the sixteenth day of August, 1972, the Honorable Stephen A. Spear, former Speaker of the Arizona House of Representatives and nationally known tax authority, passed away in Phoenix at the age of seventy-four.
He served in the Tenth and Eleventh Legislatures as Representative from Yavapai County and was Speaker of the House during the Eleventh Legislature.
Mr. Spear headed the State Department of Property Valuation from its creation in 1963 until he retired in January, 1968. Before that he founded the Arizona Tax Research Association and directed it from 1940 to 1963.
Born in Loveland, Colorado, September 7, 1897, he moved to Prescott in 1906 and in 1923 entered the coal and fuel business there. He moved to Phoenix in 1934.
He was the Arizona director of the National Emergency Council from 1934 until 1940. He was assigned to the Office of War Information during World War II.
Mr. Spear was awarded the University of Arizona Alumni Association's Distinguished Citizen Award for Public service in May, 1972.
While in the Legislature, before becoming Speaker, he served with distinction on House standing committees including Constitutional Amendments and Referendum, Printing and Clerks, and as chairman of Highways and Bridges.
In 1963 he was appointed to head Arizona's massive property revaluation, which resulted in enactment of the state's property tax code in 1967.
Memberships: President of the Yavapai County Chamber of Commerce, Odd Fellow, Kiwanis, founder and chief of the Smoki
Military Experience
World War I veteran (1930 federal census)Employment
| Occupation | Title | Years |
|---|---|---|
| Real Estate/Land/Insurance | tax appraiser | |
| Agriculture/Farming/Ranching | fuel and feed merchant | |
| Non-profit/Volunteer | founder, Arizona Tax Research Association | |
| Transportation/Lodging | wrecking derrick engineer, Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railroad | |
| Business/Financial/Office | wood and coal business owner | 1923 |
| Government | Arizona state director, National Emergency Council | 1934 - 1940 |
| Government | Office of War Information | 1940 |
| Government | director, Dept. of Property Evaluation | 1963 - 1968 |
Arizona Legislative Service
| Session | Chamber | Party | District | City | County | Office | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 10th Legislature, Regular | House | Democrat | Yavapai-1 - (1931-66 House) | Prescott | Yavapai | ||
| 10th Legislature, 1st Special | House | Democrat | Yavapai-1 - (1931-66 House) | Prescott | Yavapai | ||
| 11th Legislature, Regular | House | Democrat | Yavapai-1 - (1931-66 House) | Prescott | Yavapai | Speaker of the House | |
| 11th Legislature, 1st Special | House | Democrat | Yavapai-1 - (1931-66 House) | Prescott | Yavapai | Speaker of the House | |
| 11th Legislature, 2nd Special | House | Democrat | Yavapai-1 - (1931-66 House) | Prescott | Yavapai | Speaker of the House | |
| 11th Legislature, 3rd Special | House | Democrat | Yavapai-1 - (1931-66 House) | Prescott | Yavapai | resigned 11/20/1934 and was replaced by V. A. Reichard as Representative for Yavapai District 1 and by Rep. William George Rosenbaum as Speaker |