Mulford Winsor (May 31, 1874 – November 5, 1956) was an American
newspaper
A newspaper is a Periodical literature, periodical publication containing written News, information about current events and is often typed in black ink with a white or gray background.
Newspapers can cover a wide variety of fields such as p ...
man and politician active in
Arizona
Arizona ( ; nv, Hoozdo Hahoodzo ; ood, Alĭ ṣonak ) is a state in the Southwestern United States. It is the 6th largest and the 14th most populous of the 50 states. Its capital and largest city is Phoenix. Arizona is part of the Fou ...
.
Background
Winsor was born in Jewell, Kansas on May 31, 1874. His father, editor of the ''Jewell City Republican'', began teaching him the newspaper business when he was seven years old. His family moved to
Fort Smith, Arkansas
Fort Smith is the third-largest city in Arkansas and one of the two county seats of Sebastian County. As of the 2020 Census, the population was 89,142. It is the principal city of the Fort Smith, Arkansas–Oklahoma Metropolitan Statistical Are ...
in 1885 where Winsor attended high school and became a
journeyman
A journeyman, journeywoman, or journeyperson is a worker, skilled in a given building trade or craft, who has successfully completed an official apprenticeship qualification. Journeymen are considered competent and authorized to work in that fie ...
printer
Printer may refer to:
Technology
* Printer (publishing), a person or a company
* Printer (computing), a hardware device
* Optical printer for motion picture films
People
* Nariman Printer (fl. c. 1940), Indian journalist and activist
* James ...
.
In 1892, Winsor relocated to Prescott, Arizona Territory. Over the next two years he moved around the territory, working at a variety of newspapers, before settling in Yuma. There, in 1896, he founded the ''
Yuma Sun
The ''Yuma Sun'' is a newspaper in Yuma, Arizona, United States. It has a circulation of 18,799. The same year he began farming
dates
Date or dates may refer to:
*Date (fruit), the fruit of the date palm (''Phoenix dactylifera'')
Social activity
*Dating, a form of courtship involving social activity, with the aim of assessing a potential partner
**Group dating
* Play date, a ...
. He maintained his farming interests until his death although many years he hired others to oversee his operations.
Upon his arrival in Arizona, Winsor became active in the Democratic party and an outspoken advocate of
progressive politics
Progressivism holds that it is possible to improve human societies through political action. As a political movement, progressivism seeks to advance the human condition through social reform based on purported advancements in science, techn ...
. In 1900, he became
County Assessor
Tax assessment, or assessment, is the job of determining the value, and sometimes determining the use, of property, usually to calculate a property tax. This is usually done by an office called the assessor or tax assessor.
Governments need to ...
Tucson
, "(at the) base of the black ill
, nicknames = "The Old Pueblo", "Optics Valley", "America's biggest small town"
, image_map =
, mapsize = 260px
, map_caption = Interactive map ...
and became copublisher of the ''
Tucson Citizen
The ''Tucson Citizen'' was a daily newspaper in Tucson, Arizona. It was founded by Richard C. McCormick with John Wasson as publisher and editor on October 15, 1870, as the ''Arizona Citizen''.
When it ceased printing on May 16, 2009, the daily ...
''. Winsor left for Phoenix in 1903 where he worked at the ''Phoenix Enterprise''. In 1905, Winsor returned to Yuma and founded the ''Morning Sun''. Two years later he moved to
Globe
A globe is a spherical model of Earth, of some other celestial body, or of the celestial sphere. Globes serve purposes similar to maps, but unlike maps, they do not distort the surface that they portray except to scale it down. A model glo ...
where he edited the ''Daily Globe'' until July 1910. While at the ''Daily Globe'', Winsor wrote the first editorials in the territory supporting
initiative
In political science, an initiative (also known as a popular initiative or citizens' initiative) is a means by which a petition signed by a certain number of registered voters can force a government to choose either to enact a law or hold a ...
,
referendum
A referendum (plural: referendums or less commonly referenda) is a direct vote by the electorate on a proposal, law, or political issue. This is in contrast to an issue being voted on by a representative. This may result in the adoption of a ...
and
reform
Reform ( lat, reformo) means the improvement or amendment of what is wrong, corrupt, unsatisfactory, etc. The use of the word in this way emerges in the late 18th century and is believed to originate from Christopher Wyvill's Association movement ...
.
In 1909, Winsor was Acting Secretary of the Territorial Council during the 25th Arizona Territorial Legislature. During the session he proposed the legislature create the office of territorial historian. Following passage of the legislation, in March 1909, he was appointed to be the first territorial historian by Governor Joseph Henry Kibbey.
Winsor was elected to represent Yuma County in Arizona's 1910 constitutional convention. During the convention he was selected to be Chairman of the Committee on Legislative Departments. Additionally he assisted the Committee on Style, Revision, and Compilation with the final wording of the produced document. During a 1911 special election, Winsor ran for Arizona's upcoming seat in the U.S. House of Representatives but lost to
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 Represe ...
during the primary election. After Arizona achieved statehood in 1912, Winsor served briefly as secretary to Governor George W. P. Hunt before being appointed Chairman of the State Land Commission.
In 1915, Winsor was elected to represent Yuma County in the
Arizona State Senate
The Arizona State Senate is part of the Arizona Legislature, the state legislature of the US state of Arizona. The Senate consists of 30 members each representing an average of 219,859 constituents (2009 figures). Members serve two-year terms wi ...
. He served two two-year terms before making an unsuccessful run to be elected governor in 1920.Graham Guardian, March 19, 1920 "Mulford Winsor Enters Race for the Democratic Nomination for Governor" /ref> Winsor returned to the Arizona State Senate in 1922, serving three more terms. During his final five years in the legislature, from 1923 to 1928, he served as President of the Senate. During his time in the Senate he gained a reputation as one of Arizona's most important and influential lawmakers. One of the issues of greatest concern to Winsor was apportionment of water from the
Colorado River
The Colorado River ( es, Río Colorado) is one of the principal rivers (along with the Rio Grande) in the Southwestern United States and northern Mexico. The river drains an expansive, arid watershed that encompasses parts of seven U.S. s ...
. Toward this concern he was appointed to the Arizona Colorado River Commission from 1927 to 1928.
After leaving the legislature, Winsor was appointed State Librarian and Director of the Department of Library and Archives in 1932. He held that position until his death in Phoenix on November 5, 1956. Winsor was buried in Yuma.