Note: At the time this interview was conducted, the Sandra Day O'Connor Institute was known as "O'Connor House." The organization's name was changed in 2015.
O'Connor House
We are interviewing Senator Alan Stephens on September 5, 2014.
First of all, what years did you serve in the legislature?
Alan Stephens
I served from 1985 to 1992.
O'Connor House
And tell us how you met Sandra Day O'Connor.
Alan Stephens
Actually, of course, she left the legislature long before I came on board. And so I, when I first met her, she was actually doing a presentation at Valley Leadership. I was in the first class. And she and her husband, John, were in charge of the way they they ran the program. There was a full day program every once a month on Friday. And so one of the Fridays, she and her husband basically ran a session on Arizona government civic participation, some of the things that she's now engaged in.
O'Connor House
So what was your impression of her at the time?
Alan Stephens
Well, obviously, this was before she had been appointed to the Court. But she had a quite a history at the legislature and I think she finished as senate majority leader and then became a judge. And so she was, and she was on the, I believe the, the court here in Maricopa County during that period, and she was, she had a very fine reputation.
O'Connor House
Did you have a chance to interact with her any capacity?
Alan Stephens
Just, you know, as one of the 40 people in the class. But her husband, her husband also was very active. And he was a senior partner, founding partner, I guess, with O'Connor Cavanagh, which was a major law firm here at the time.
O'Connor House
So when she spoke to the class, what what can you tell us about
Sandra Day O'Connor? Is there anything you would like, as a student studying Sandra Day O'Connor? Is there anything you'd like them to know about her in terms of…?
Alan Stephens
Well, this was her, in her earlier you know, career when she, before she got on the Supreme Court. So this was Sandra Day O'Connor as a member of the bench here locally, but also a very active person. She'd been active for many, many years in the community here, and she and her husband both and so she related some of that and talked about, you know, the obligation of people. Valley Leadership was a group that was just, that was the first year they formed. And she was, I think, part of the group that to help form it.
O'Connor House
So
what was the legislature like when she was the majority leader? How, what was the tone in terms of how the legislature functioned versus today? And how did, how did the, the time that she was in the Senate, and then the transition when you came on board, how was it in terms of bipartisanship or working across the aisle?
Alan Stephens
It what was much more bipartisan then than it is today. And people had a relationship as colleagues, even if they were different political parties. And, you know, in talking, I have a friend that I've worked with often on many capacities, who worked for Bill Jake, when he was President of the State Senate, when Judge O'Connor, Justice O'Connor was in the Senate, and he talks about, you know, that she was very well respected at the time, and that they kind of worked together in a much more collegial standpoint. At that point, the legislature was much more of a dominant force in Arizona state government. Based on our Constitution, the legislature has more power, for instance, than the governor's office does, but over time, that's, you know, the governor's bully pulpit and that sort of thing has tended to dominate in the public's mind. But in those days, the legislature was very active. Very a–to the point of even with some governors, helping write the State of the State [address]. So I mean, it was a very different kind of a situation.
O'Connor House
And what's changed in your mind? How, why has it changed?
Alan Stephens
Well, politics all over the country has changed. Part of it is the intense scrutiny by the media. I don't want to blame the media, but the media, calling attention to a lot of issues, getting a lot more attention to them, causes people to play to the media, sometimes. Also the partisan nature of the parties, the political parties, which activists really have the time on both sides to really get involved in the political party, so it tends to kind of move the political parties to the little more to the extremes of the left and the right, and more so back than back 30 years ago.
O'Connor House
Are there any steps you think that could help change that climate today?
Alan Stephens
Well, more people need to get involved. I mean, the public is, if you, in the polling across the country, the public is a lot more middle of the road. Maybe even center-right, than is reflected sometimes in the politics at the state capitols, and not just in Arizona, but all across the country. And that's, you know, people have to get elected in the primary before they can get to the general. And so, particularly with
the way that districts are drawn now, every 10 years, that causes the primaries to be the dominant election, in two thirds or at least most of the elections politically in Arizona. That's not the case everywhere, but it tends to be. There was just some congressional districts that were tossed out by a judge in Florida, for instance, for the same reason.
O'Connor House
When you say people have to get more involved, how would you describe it. In what way should citizens get more involved to create a more functioning–?
Alan Stephens
Well, the first thing is voting.
We have a very low voter participation in Arizona, I think we're in the bottom two or three in the country. The other issue is it was kind of was somewhere where the group of pretty informed people, and I was at the rural development policy forum, which is something that rural communities put on once a year. And there were leadership from all the rural communities. And people were talking about the need to get involved. And one person raised their hand and said well, you know, independents can't vote, and it's ridiculous. Well independents have been able to choose their ballots in primaries since 1998. But even this group was unaware of that. So, you know, the problem is, government is a very complex and unappealing topic for many people, and so people tend not to get involved in things that they either don't understand or find, you know, not appealing. And in Arizona, it's to the extreme, you know, in terms of participation. And that really hurts the process overall, because it's a self-reinforcing situation where you get mad, so you start complaining, you don't participate, it doesn't reflect your views even more, and therefore, you're even more entrenched in not participating.
O'Connor House
So how did you get your start in politics?
Alan Stephens
I ran for the State Senate in 1982, lost the first time around, ran again in 1984 and won. And in those days, it was not as all-consuming to run for office as it is today. You know, people, I mean, it's a major undertaking, there are, you know, independent committees, there are a lot forces that weren't involved. You know, if you spend 15, 20, 25 thousand, that was a lot of money. And in the days when Justice O'Connor ran, it was a lot less than that. You know, there was partisanship then, too, but It was it was just a lot more of a community endeavor. People who ran for office tended to be known in the community. Now they tend to be known in the political party.
O'Connor House
So in your mind, could you mention one or two individuals that are living or otherwise that you consider great statesman
in Arizona?
Alan Stephens
Well, Burton Barr. People thought that of him on both sides of the aisle. Obviously he's not with us anymore. Art Hamilton is a person that had been in the legislature a long time, got elected before he could actually serve. Jones Osborne, who, I was, I served with, from Yuma was, you know, a community leader, he owned a newspaper there and kind of reflected, I think he served for about 16, 18 years. Term limits also have been an issue, although, you know, people play the game of going back and forth between the House and the Senate, so it's not really, you know, it's, it's kind of the worst of term limits. Also, a fellow by the name of Tony Gabaldon who was from Flagstaff, who also was active in county government, was a principal of the school for many years, and was very well known in the community and served in the State Senate for a number of years.
O'Connor House
Any parting words of wisdom?
Alan Stephens
Good luck!