Mecham Termed ‘Evasive,’ ‘Paranoid’

PHOENIX —  A defiant Gov. Evan Mecham told a House committee considering his impeachment Wednesday that he wanted to “let it all hang out” and underwent 5 1/2 hours of questioning on obstructing justice, one of three areas of alleged impropriety.

But, on numerous occasions, he either did not directly answer questions or said, “I do not recall,” and House members listening to the testimony accused the governor of being “evasive” and even “paranoid.”

At one point, Mecham even laughed at questions and accused a committee member of “stretching” in search of a question.

‘Did a Lot of Dancing’

“I have always been a fan of Fred Astaire, and I think the governor did a lot of dancing today,” said Jim Skelly, a Scottsdale Republican who is chairman of the 10-member select committee.

“I think, by being evasive and combative, the governor is doing himself more harm than good,” said House Minority Leader Art Hamilton, a Phoenix Democrat. “If this were a seven-round sparring match, I would say the governor has lost four, and he lost those four handily.”

Thousands of Arizonans were watching the proceedings on television, and Hamilton, Skelly and other representatives said that, since the governor began testifying, the tide of phone calls had turned regarding the proceedings.

“By the phone calls I’m getting, it’s far more for impeachment now,” said Mark Killian, a Republican from what is normally a strongly pro-Mecham district.

Charges Against Governor

The governor is accused of trying to hide a huge campaign loan, misusing public funds and attempting to obstruct justice.

On Wednesday, the members explored allegations that the governor had tried to thwart an attorney general’s investigation of a death threat by one member of his staff, Lee Watkins, against a former staff member, Donna Carlson, who was testifying before a grand jury investigating the governor.

Watkins, who resigned as director of prison construction just before the impeachment action began, reportedly told another Mecham staff member that Carlson might be killed if she continued to testify.

Col. Ralph T. Milstead, director of the state Department of Public Safety, had testified previously that the governor ordered him not to cooperate with the probe by Atty. Gen. Bob Corbin but that he disobeyed the order because he felt it was his duty.

‘Out to Hang Me’

Milstead said that the governor had told him: “The attorney general is out to hang me, and I’m not going to help him in any way.”

Mecham told the House committee Wednesday that the obstruction of justice charges against him were unfounded. “This whole thing is a cooked-up deal,” he said. The governor said that he could have told Milstead not to cooperate with the attorney general’s office because he believed “the attorney general is out to get me.”

That testimony, Skelly said, was “extremely damaging. What it means is that he told Mr. Milstead not to cooperate with the attorney general’s office, and that’s what this is all about.”

The governor testified that he had told Milstead not to have his officers testify because it wasn’t worth disturbing them on a Sunday.

Hamilton said that to believe that claim would require a “stretching of the imagination.”

‘A Paranoid Individual’

Killian, usually a supporter of the governor, said Mecham’s claims that people are out to get him indicate that “you’ve got a paranoid individual.”

“I have a concern that, when you think everybody is out to get you, it fogs your judgment,” he said. “I worry about the judgment of a person who lives his life in fear that people are out to get him.”

Some representatives said that, if they had to choose between the governor’s word and Milstead’s, they would take the word of Milstead, who is Arizona’s top law enforcement official.