Political Career
His success in business prompted Stevens to take an interest in politics. Toward this end he served as Tucson city treasurer, Pima County tax assessor, and was a member of the Pima County Board of Supervisors on multiple occasions. In 1868, Stevens was elected to represent the 5th Arizona Territorial Legislature where he represented Pima County in the House of Representatives (lower house). The session even met in a building owned by Stevens. Stevens was returned to the legislature twice more, serving in the Council (upper house) of both the 6th and 7th Arizona Territorial Legislature.
In 1874, Richard Cunningham McCormick decided not to run for reelection as Arizona Territory's delegate in the United States House of Representatives. The territory's Democrats met in Phoenix in May to select nominees for the upcoming election. The two candidates for the Territorial Delegate were Stevens and John A. Rush. With delegates from Yavapai and Yuma counties not yet arrived, the convention selected Rush by a 8 to 7 vote. Rush refused to accept the nomination and withdrew as a candidate on July 24, 1874. The election then became a five-way race with all candidates running as Independents. Stevens and Charles T. Hayden favored Democratic policies while Curtis Coe Bean and John Smith advocated those of the Republican party. The fifth candidate, stagecoach driver David G. Beardsley, ran as the "workingman's candidate". Stories of the day indicate Stevens enlisted the territory's gamblers to aid his campaign. To do this he is said to have loaned them money to bet on his victory in the election, allowing the gamblers to keep any winnings and asking only for the sum of the wagers to be returned. The election also saw 650 questionable votes for Bean thrown out by the Yavapai County Board of Supervisors. Final results were 1,442 for Stevens, 1,076 for Bean, 638 for Smith, 13 for Hayden and 7 for Beardsley.
Rumors of a possible special session of the U.S. Congress being called prompted Stevens to leave for Washington D. C. on March 3, 1875. The special session never materialized and Stevens kept himself busy in Washington looking after his business concerns. After the 44th United States Congress convened in December, the new territorial delegate introduced a series of legislative proposals. Among these were requests for funds to construction of a territorial capital and penitentiary, creating of a port of entry in Tucson, and navigation improvements along the Colorado River. One of Stevens' bills that was passed by the Congress allowed the territorial legislature to overrule the Governor's veto with a two-thirds vote. A bill to allow for election of the territorial governor was defeated.
Stevens announced he would seek a second term on June 21, 1876. His opponents were Granville H. Oury and William H. Hardy. Curtis Coe Bean announced his intention to run but withdrew to look after his business interests. During the race, the territorial newspapers expected the incumbent to win reelection. When the election results were being totaled, the Yavapai County Board of Supervisors, in a 2–1 decision, attempted to disqualify 168 votes for Stevens on the grounds that they came from two towns where residents had not paid their poll tax. This was done despite the tax not being due till December 31 and the board's decision to accept the votes from several other towns with similar circumstances but that had voted for a different candidate. A provision in territorial law required the Territorial Secretary to accept the vote canvas provided by the County Recorder thwarted the board's efforts and resulted in Stevens winning a plurality of the vote. Final results were 1,194 for Stevens, 1,049 for Hardy, and 1,007 for Oury.
The 45th United States Congress saw Stevens introduce several new proposals. In addition to a series of appropriation requests, the delegate asked for a modification to the amount of land allocated for army use at Fort Lowell. More important was a change in the size of the Arizona Territorial Legislature. With Arizona's population having grown to around 40,000, Stevens convinced the U.S. Congress to increase the size of the legislature from its previous nine member Council and eighteen member House of Representatives to twelve and twenty-four members respectively.
June 7, 1878 saw Stevens announce his plans to run for a third term. His reelection bid was unsuccessful as he placed third in a five-way race during the 1878 election.
Read more about this topic: Hiram Sanford Stevens
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