Sam Goddard, 86; Ex.-Gov. Helped Secure Water for Arizona
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Sam Goddard, 86, a former governor of Arizona who helped secure water for the region in his two years in office, died Wednesday in Phoenix, according to a spokeswoman for his son, Arizona Atty. Gen. Terry Goddard. The cause of death was not announced, but the former governor had been in hospice care with complications from a broken hip.
Goddard was Arizona’s 12th governor, serving from 1965 to 1967. He also served as state Democratic Party chairman for more than a decade and on the Democratic National Committee for 20 years.
Goddard helped get a compromise agreement among several state governors to support a bill authorizing the Colorado River Basin Project.
That bill established the 336-mile Central Arizona Project, which provided a reliable water source in the desert.
In 1965, Goddard signed a bill that prohibited discrimination in voting and access to public places based on race, religion, gender or ethnicity.
Born in Clayton, Mo., Goddard graduated from Harvard and earned his law degree at the University of Arizona.
He served in the Army Air Forces during World War II.
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