John Verkamp (born c. 1940) is an American attorney and politician in Arizona. He served as a county attorney for 12 years, and was elected to four terms as a Republican state representative. He served one term as a state senator, but decided not to run for re-election in 2002 after redistricting moved his base of Flagstaff to a primarily

Democratic Democrat, Democrats, or Democratic may refer to: Politics *A proponent of democracy, or democratic government; a form of government involving rule by the people. *A member of a Democratic Party: **Democratic Party (United States) (D) **Democratic ...

district. Continuing to disagree with the Republicans over the issues of the Iraq War, which he opposed, in 2005 Verkamp joined the Democrats.Paul Giblin, "Verkamp running against Pederson"
''East Valley Tribune'', 5 May 2006. Retrieved 12 November 2012 He filed to run in 2006 as a Democrat for the United States Senate from Arizona,Andrea Stone, "Immigration may play a key role in Arizona's Senate race"
''USA Today'', 17 May 2006. Retrieved 12 November 2012. but was late and failed to qualify for the primary.

Early life and education

John Verkamp was born about 1940 in

Grand Canyon Village Grand Canyon Village is a census-designated place (CDP) located on the South Rim of the Grand Canyon, in Coconino County, Arizona, United States. Its population was 2,004 at the 2010 Census. Located in Grand Canyon National Park, it is whol ...

, Arizona. His family has operated a store at the South Rim of

Grand Canyon National Park Grand Canyon National Park, located in northwestern Arizona, is the 15th site in the United States to have been named as a national park. The park's central feature is the Grand Canyon, a gorge of the Colorado River, which is often consider ...

for three generations, since 1906. He went to elementary and high school there. He earned his bachelor's degree from the University of Arizona in 1962. He went on to law school, gaining his JD degree in 1965 from the University of Arizona. Verkamp entered the U.S. Army, serving from 1965 to 1970, in the U.S. and Germany. He achieved the rank of captain.

Career

He built a private practice in Flagstaff, Arizona, where he lived until 2004.

Political career

In 1980, Verkamp was elected as

Coconino County Coconino County is a county in the north-central part of the U.S. state of Arizona. Its population was 145,101 at the 2020 census. The county seat is Flagstaff. The county takes its name from ''Cohonino'', a name applied to the Havasupai p ...

Attorney. He was re-elected twice and served a total of three terms, to 1992. While County Attorney, Verkamp was elected president of the Arizona County Attorneys’ and Sheriffs’ Association in 1985-86. He was active in other related associations.

State office

In 1992, Verkamp ran for state office and was elected to the Arizona House of Representatives from the 2nd district. He was re-elected three times, serving a total of four terms, until 2000. That year, he was elected to the Arizona State Senate. During his service he became Chairman of the Commerce Committee. Through this entire period, he worked on issues related to education, health care and the environment. In 2002, the Republican-dominated state legislature redistricted, moving Flagstaff from its former district, which had included

Sedona Sedona is a city that straddles the county line between Coconino and Yavapai counties in the northern Verde Valley region of the U.S. state of Arizona. As of the 2010 census, its population was 10,031. It is within the Coconino National Fo ...

and Kingman, to a new district containing the Navajo Nation. In recent years, its members have historically supported Democratic Party candidates for the state legislature. Verkamp decided against running for re-election in the new district. His former State Senate seat has been won by Democrats since the redistricting. In 2004, Verkamp moved from Flagstaff to Phoenix to be near his children and grandchildren. An opponent of the Iraq War, which started in 2003, and a supporter of

single-payer health care Single-payer healthcare is a type of universal healthcare in which the costs of essential healthcare for all residents are covered by a single public system (hence "single-payer"). Single-payer systems may contract for healthcare services from p ...

, Verkamp in December 2005 left the Republican Party over those issues. He filed to run in 2006 as a Democrat for U.S. Senate, saying his opponents were not addressing the Iraq War. As Verkamp was a late entry in the race, he did not gather enough petition signatures to qualify for the September 12

primary election 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 ...

ballot. His opponent in the primary would have been the Democrat Jim Pederson. The Republican incumbent,

Jon Kyl Jon Llewellyn Kyl ( ; born April 25, 1942) is an American politician and lobbyist who served as a United States Senator for Arizona from 1995 to 2013 and again in 2018. A Republican, he held both of Arizona's Senate seats at different times, ser ...

, defeated his challenger and won re-election for a third term in November 2006.

References

External links