Evan Mecham | Ousted Ariz. governor, 83

Evan Mecham, 83, a firebrand conservative Republican who served 15 months as Arizona governor before a dramatic impeachment trial removed him from office in 1988, died Thursday in Phoenix, a former aide said. Mr. Mecham, who blamed his downfall on political enemies, had been in deteriorating health with Alzheimer's disease for years, said State Sen. Karen Johnson, who was his aide while he was governor. "I just think Evan was a visionary, perhaps a little bit ahead of his time for some people and a great, great patriot and constitutionalist," Johnson said. Mr. Mecham, a millionaire automobile dealer who served in the Arizona Senate for two years in the 1960s, ran for governor four times before he won a three-way race in 1986 with 40 percent of the vote. After taking office in January 1987, he rescinded a Martin Luther King Jr. state holiday, saying its creation had been illegal. He became the first U.S. governor impeached and removed from office in 59 years when, in April 1988, the Arizona Senate convicted him of obstructing justice and misusing $80,000 in state funds allegedly funneled to his Pontiac dealership to keep it afloat. He said the funds were the proceeds of his inaugural ball, which had been intended as campaign contributions. He insisted it was his money to spend as he saw fit, except for political purposes. A fighter pilot during World War II, he was shot down over Europe in March 1945 and spent 22 days as a prisoner of war. He is survived by his wife and seven children. - AP