Former Arizona Gov. Mecham dies at 83

PHOENIX, Feb. 22 (UPI) -- Evan Mecham, who briefly served as Arizona governor before being removed from office by impeachment in 1988, has died at 83.

State Sen. Karen Johnson, who was Mecham's aide while he was governor, said Friday that the millionaire former car salesman died Thursday after a lengthy battle with Alzheimer's disease, The Arizona Republic reported.

"It was sad for many of us,'' former Gov. Rose Mofford said of Mecham's impeachment.

Mofford was secretary of state at the time, and succeeded Mecham as governor after the impeachment.

"He had gotten money for his inauguration, and the county attorney and he had agreed it was improper for him to use it personally,'' said Phoenix attorney Paul Eckstein, who made the case against Mecham with former Superior Court Judge William French.

Mecham nonetheless loaned his auto dealership $80,000 from the inaugural fund, forming the basis for one of two impeachment charges.

"He was arrogant and he had a mean streak in him,'' Eckstein said. "He impeached himself and convicted himself.''

Fred Craft, a Washington lawyer who represented Mecham, said: "Evan, somehow, went to the beat of his own drum, and a lot of the time he was out of rhythm. He was a throwback to a different era.''

Mecham was born May 12, 1924, in the northeastern Utah town of Mountain Home.