Joseph Henry Kibbey - Phoenix

Phoenix

After leaving the bench, Kibbey moved to Phoenix and established a private legal practice. Many of his clients were "old-righters" who believed their water rights had been wrongly taken from them by the local canal companies. During this period the former judge argued a number of cases before the Arizona Territorial Supreme Court. Among the more important were Slosser v. Salt River Canal Company (1901), 7 Arizona 376 and Gould v. Maricopa Canal Company (1904), 8 Arizona 429.

In addition to his legal practice, Kibbey became politically active. He was elected Phoenix City Attorney in November 1897. This was followed by a later appointment as Assistant District Attorney for Maricopa County. Within the Republican Party, Kibbey was a two-time chairman of the Maricopa County organization and a three time chairman of the territorial central committee. In 1902 he was elected to the 22nd Arizona Territorial Legislature, where he served as minority leader in the upper house. Kibbey was also a delegate to the 1904 Republican National Convention.

While living in Arizona Territory, Kibbey had seen devastating floods separated by prolonged droughts. An example of this was the February 1891 Salt River flood, which washed out the railroad bridge at Tempe and caused damage in Phoenix as far north as Jefferson Street. This was followed by a drought that killed livestock, forced a third of the farmland in the Salt River valley out of cultivation, and caused many residents in the area to abandon their homes. To control flood waters and provide water in times of drought, construction of a storage dam was proposed on the Salt River and a suitable site located as early as 1889. There was, however, no source within the territory capable of financing the estimated US$2–5 million construction cost. This situation changed on June 17, 1902, with passage of the Newlands Reclamation Act. However, the act required a party of the second part capable of repaying loaned monies and there was no precedent for how such parties were to be organized. To address this requirement, Kibbey helped found the Salt River Valley Water User's Association. As the Association's attorney, it fell to him to write the group's Articles of Incorporation. The articles Kibbey created not only met the legal requirements of the Newlands Reclamation Act but balanced the interests of the Salt River Valley's existing and future residents. The articles and the user's association were so successful that they served as a model for future federal water projects.