Joe Conway (December 3, 1898 – November 9, 1945) was an American politician who served as the

Attorney General of Arizona The Arizona Attorney General is the chief legal officer of the State of Arizona, in the United States. This state officer is the head of the Arizona Department of Law, more commonly known as the Arizona Attorney General's Office. The state attorne ...

from 1937 to 1944.

Education and career

Conway, the son of Catherine Ward (1880–1939) and Mr. Conway, was born in Salt Lake City, Utah in 1898, but grew up in Winkelman, Arizona. After graduating from high school, he went to

Arizona State College Arizona State University (Arizona State or ASU) is a public university, public research university in the Phoenix Metropolitan Area, Phoenix metropolitan area. Founded in 1885 by the 13th Arizona Territorial Legislature, ASU is one of the List ...

in Tempe, Arizona, where he graduated in 1918. During his studies he was editor of the yearbook and head of the school newspaper. He received awards in basketball and baseball. He was also president of the student bodyand a club. After graduating college he joined the armed forces. He then went to the

University of Arizona The University of Arizona (Arizona, U of A, UArizona, or UA) is a public land-grant research university in Tucson, Arizona. Founded in 1885 by the 13th Arizona Territorial Legislature, it was the first university in the Arizona Territory. T ...

, studied law, and graduated in 1924. While in law school, Conway worked in the inning industry and for the newspapers in Tucson. He then worked for the ''Miami Evening Bulletin'' in

Miami Miami ( ), officially the City of Miami, known as "the 305", "The Magic City", and "Gateway to the Americas", is a East Coast of the United States, coastal metropolis and the County seat, county seat of Miami-Dade County, Florida, Miami-Dade C ...

and then began practicing as a lawyer in the mining community in 1924. In 1928 he moved to Phoenix, where he opened a legal practice. Conway's was first elected attorney general in 1936. During his first term, he attracted national attention by threatening to seize all of the assets of the

Phelps Dodge Corporation Phelps Dodge Corporation was an American mining company founded in 1834 as an import-export firm by Anson Greene Phelps and his two sons-in-law William Earle Dodge, Sr. and Daniel James. The latter two ran Phelps, James & Co., the part of the ...

, Arizona's largest mining company. This forced the company to pay $4 million in property taxes. The resulting litigation lasted most of the

Great Depression The Great Depression (19291939) was an economic shock that impacted most countries across the world. It was a period of economic depression that became evident after a major fall in stock prices in the United States. The economic contagio ...

. Conway was re-elected attorney general three times. He held the post until 1944 when he decided to run for the U.S. Senate against the democratic incumbent

Carl Hayden Carl Trumbull Hayden (October 2, 1877 – January 25, 1972) was an American politician. Representing Arizona in the United States Senate from 1927 to 1969, he was the first U.S. Senator to serve seven terms. Serving as the state's first Representa ...

. Conway lost in the

primaries Primary elections, or direct primary are a voting process by which voters can indicate their preference for their party's candidate, or a candidate in general, in an upcoming general election, local election, or by-election. Depending on the c ...

. Conway said a week later that he would run for the Arizona Attorney General's next election. Conway died on November 19, 1945, in a car accident in Florence, Arizona. His body was buried at Greenwood Memory Lawn Cemetery in Phoenix, Arizona.
Joe Conway Is Killed
'' Arizona Republic, November 20, 1945

References

External links

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1938 Photo – Nogales international
{{DEFAULTSORT:Conway, Joe 1898 births 1945 deaths Arizona Attorneys General Arizona Republicans Road incident deaths in Arizona