Betsey Bayless (born January 10, 1944) was the 17th

Secretary of State of Arizona The secretary of state of Arizona is an elected position in the U.S. state of Arizona. Since Arizona does not have a lieutenant governor, the secretary stands first in the line of succession to the governorship. The secretary also serves as act ...

from September 5, 1997, until January 6, 2003. She was appointed to fill the unexpired term of fellow Republican

Jane Dee Hull Jane Dee Hull (; August 8, 1935 – April 16, 2020) was an American politician and educator who was the 20th governor of Arizona from 1997 to 2003. She ascended to the office following the resignation of Fife Symington; Hull was elected in ...

. She was elected to a full term November 3, 1998.

Early life and education

Bayless was born in Phoenix, and is a third generation Arizonan. Bayless graduated from Xavier High School in 1962. She earned a

bachelor's degree A bachelor's degree (from Medieval Latin ''baccalaureus'') or baccalaureate (from Modern Latin ''baccalaureatus'') is an undergraduate degree awarded by colleges and universities upon completion of a course of study lasting three to six years ...

Latin American Latin Americans (; ) are the citizenship, citizens of Latin American countries (or people with cultural, ancestral or national origins in Latin America). Latin American countries and their Latin American diaspora, diasporas are Metroethnicity, ...

Studies and

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many countries in the Americas **Spanish cuisine **Spanish history **Spanish culture ...

from the

University of Arizona The University of Arizona (Arizona, U of A, UArizona, or UA) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Tucson, Arizona, United States. Founded in 1885 by the 13th Arizona Territorial Legislature, it ...

, where, as a

Phi Beta Kappa The Phi Beta Kappa Society () is the oldest academic honor society in the United States. It was founded in 1776 at the College of William & Mary in Virginia. Phi Beta Kappa aims to promote and advocate excellence in the liberal arts and sciences, ...

, she received the Freeman Medal as outstanding graduate in 1966. She earned her

master's degree A master's degree (from Latin ) is a postgraduate academic degree awarded by universities or colleges upon completion of a course of study demonstrating mastery or a high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional prac ...

public administration Public administration, or public policy and administration refers to "the management of public programs", or the "translation of politics into the reality that citizens see every day",Kettl, Donald and James Fessler. 2009. ''The Politics of the ...

Arizona State University Arizona State University (Arizona State or ASU) is a public university, public research university in Tempe, Arizona, United States. Founded in 1885 as Territorial Normal School by the 13th Arizona Territorial Legislature, the university is o ...

Political career

Prior to her appointment as Secretary of State, Bayless was a member of the

Maricopa County Maricopa County () is a county in the south-central part of the U.S. state of Arizona. As of the 2020 census the population was 4,420,568, or about 62% of the state's total, making it the fourth-most populous county in the United States and ...

Board of Supervisors where she served two terms as board chair. Bayless also served as Director of the state Department of Administration, as Acting Director of the state Department of Revenue and as Assistant Director of the

Arizona Board of Regents The Arizona Board of Regents (ABOR) is the governing body of Arizona's public university system. It provides policy guidance to Arizona State University, Northern Arizona University, and the University of Arizona. History In 1885, the territori ...

. She ran in

2002 The effects of the September 11 attacks of the previous year had a significant impact on the affairs of 2002. The war on terror was a major political focus. Without settled international law, several nations engaged in anti-terror operation ...

for the Republican nomination for Governor, but came in a distant second to Matt Salmon, who in turn narrowly lost to

Janet Napolitano Janet Ann Napolitano (; born November 29, 1957) is an American politician, lawyer, and academic administrator. She served as president of the University of California from 2013 to 2020, on the faculty at the Goldman School of Public Policy at t ...

. Bayless was succeeded in office by fellow Republican

Jan Brewer Janice Kay Brewer (''née'' Drinkwine; born September 26, 1944) is an American politician who served as the 22nd governor of Arizona from 2009 to 2015, as a member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party. Prior to this, Brewer ...

Post-political career

In 2005, Bayless was hired as the chief executive officer for the Maricopa Integrated Health System (MIHS), the public hospital and health care system of

. Bayless has been credited with restoring the MIHS to financial viability and expansion of hospital facilities. Following her retirement from the position in 2013, Bayless became president emeritus for the MIHS.

Awards

Bayless received an honorary doctorate from the University of Arizona in 2001. In 2005, Bayless received the Valley Leadership Woman of the Year Award.

References

External links

Arizona Secretaries of State timeline

Arizona Secretary of State biography

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Bayless, Betsey Watts College of Public Service & Community Solutions alumni County supervisors in Arizona Living people Politicians from Phoenix, Arizona University of Arizona alumni Secretaries of state of Arizona State cabinet secretaries of Arizona Women in Arizona politics Women state constitutional officers of Arizona Arizona Republicans 1944 births 21st-century American women politicians