36 Facts About Russell Pearce

Russell Keith Pearce was an American politician who was a Republican member of the Arizona State Senate.

Russell Pearce rose to national prominence as the primary sponsor of Arizona SB1070, a controversial anti-illegal immigrant measure that was signed into law in 2010.

Russell Pearce was elected President of the Arizona Senate when the Senate began its January 2011 term but then suffered a dramatic reversal of fortune when he was ousted in a November 2011 recall election, the first legislator in Arizona history to be so removed from office.

Russell Pearce served as Vice-Chair of the Arizona GOP, but he resigned the position in September 2014 after controversy over a eugenicist comment about forced sterilization of poor women on Medicaid.

Russell Pearce grew up in a troubled and impoverished home with an alcoholic father; he recalled in past interviews that when he came home from school, he sometimes found that neighbors had left groceries for the family, but his mother would always put the food to the side, not wishing to accept charity.

Russell Pearce served with the National Guard in Arizona during the Vietnam War.

Russell Pearce wanted to attend medical school, but his family was unable to afford it, which led him to join the Maricopa County Sheriff's Office where he served as a sheriff's deputy for twenty-three years, including a stint as Chief Deputy Sheriff under Joe Arpaio.

In 1995, Russell Pearce became the Director of the Arizona Motor Vehicle Division.

Russell Pearce oversaw the implementation of a law requiring that applicants for drivers licenses provide either a birth certificate proving they are United States citizens, or documents proving they are in the United States legally.

Russell Pearce was discharged from the position of Director of the Arizona Motor Vehicle Division in August 1999 by Arizona Department of Transportation Director Mary Peters, after an investigation revealed that two of Russell Pearce's subordinates had tampered with a Tucson woman's driving record.

Russell Pearce later said he was cleared of wrongdoing, but Peters told the Arizona Republic: "There's a big difference between being cleared and choosing not to file criminal charges".

Russell Pearce was elected to the Arizona House in 2000, representing a district in the Mesa area.

In 2004, Russell Pearce supported Arizona's Proposition 200, which requires individuals to produce proof of citizenship before they may register to vote or apply for public benefits in Arizona.

Russell Pearce was the lead sponsor of Arizona SB1070, drafted by Kansas anti-immigrant politician Kris Kobach which passed into law in April 2010 as the Support Our Law Enforcement and Safe Neighborhoods Act.

Russell Pearce sponsored Arizona SB1097, debated in the legislature during the 2010 term, which sought to quantify the impact of illegal immigration on the state's K-12 education system.

CNN announced on June 15,2010, that Senator Russell Pearce was proposing a measure that would deny US citizenship to children born in this country to illegal immigrants in an effort to thwart so-called "anchor babies".

Russell Pearce addressed these accusations by reaffirming that he supports the principles in the Utah Compact such as the importance of the family and showing respect to immigrants.

Russell Pearce disagrees with the compact's failure to differentiate between legal and illegal immigration.

Russell Pearce faced criticism in 2006 after he called for the renewal of a 1950s immigration enforcement program, Operation Wetback, that deported or encouraged to self-deport 1.3 million illegal immigrants in less than a year.

In October 2006, Russell Pearce included the text of an article by National Alliance, a white separatist group, in an email to a group of supporters.

Russell Pearce endorsed Ready for Mesa City Council in 2006 and appeared with him at several rallies.

In 2004 Russell Pearce was photographed attending Ready's baptism into the LDS Church.

Russell Pearce has since claimed he was unaware of Ready's neo-Nazi affiliations at the time he made the endorsement.

Russell Pearce said he didn't want students indoctrinated with anti-American ideologies.

In October 2010, the SB 1070 bill, which Russell Pearce sponsored in the legislature, came under criticism for benefiting the for-profit prison industry.

In November 2010, Russell Pearce launched a push to reject US$7 billion in federal funding for Arizona's Medicaid program, which serves more than one million people.

Russell Pearce was the first state lawmaker in Arizona history to be recalled.

Russell Pearce was accused by Republican Mary Lou Boettcher of having no election committee, no volunteers, and was being supported and funded almost entirely by friends of Pearce, who had gathered enough signatures to place her on the ballot.

On November 7,2011, the night before his recall election, Mesa voters were flooded with robocalls from Russell Pearce's supporters, informing them that both Russell Pearce and his challenger Jerry Lewis were Republicans.

On November 8,2011, Russell Pearce was defeated in the recall election by Lewis.

In September 2014, Russell Pearce made eugenicist comments on his KKNT radio show, stating that poor, unemployed women on Medicaid should receive forced sterilization, as well as other comments which were widely criticized in the media and by fellow GOP politicians.

Russell Pearce lived in Mesa, Arizona with his wife, LuAnne and his three adopted grandchildren: Wyatt, Ethan, and Tatum Russell Pearce.

Russell Pearce has five children: Dodi, Sean, Colten, Justin, and Joshua.

Russell Pearce has worked in the Maricopa County Treasurer's Office since 2014.

Justin Russell Pearce subsequently pleaded guilty to tampering with a public record and received a suspended sentence.

Russell Pearce died at his home in Mesa on January 5,2023, at the age of 75.