A black and white political advertising card for Wesley Bowlin, Arizona Secretary of State. A photo of Bowlin is on the left front and the seal of Arizona in gold is at the right. On the reverse side of the item is a list of the duties of the Secretary of State of Arizona. John Riddle Collection. The back caption reads: “Duties of the Secretary of State of Arizona – Administrator of Elections, Trademark and Tradename Registrations, Notary Public Appointments, Administrative Procedure Act, Serves as acting Governor in the absence of the Governor, Custodian of the official Seal of the State, Administers Uniform Commercial Code, Publishes Session Laws, Keeper of all Legislative Acts, Records all Public Official Bonds, Keeps Records of Appointments to Boards and Commissions, Makes an official canvass of the votes.”

Wesley Bowlin was born on July 1, 1909 to Doc Strother Bolin and Margaret Bolin in Butler, Missouri. His family moved to Phoenix when he was seven and he later graduated from Phoenix Union High School and Phoenix College. In 1938 after working at various businesses, Bowlin was elected to the constable of the West Phoenix Precinct. He went on to serve as Justice of the Peace for the West Phoenix Precinct court from 1942 to 1948. His next posting was to be elected as the Secretary of State, in which he served 13 consecutive terms lasting over 28 years. Bowlin became the 15th Governor of Arizona in October of 1977 due to Raul H. Castro resigning from the post to become Ambassador to Argentina. Wesley Bowlin was active in a number of organizations that included the Boy Scouts of America, the Leukemia Society of America, the Elks Lodge and the Kiwanis Club. Wesley Bowlin passed away from a heart attack at the age of 68 on March 4th, 1978. After his cremation, in accordance with his wishes, Bowlin’s ashes were scattered at various historic points within the 14 counties of Arizona.

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