David Gowan

David M. Gowan Sr. is an American politician currently serving as a member of the Arizona Senate from the 19th district since 2023, having previously represented the 14th district from 2019 to 2023. A member of the Republican Party, Gowan served in the Arizona House of Representatives from 2009 to 2017, serving as the House's speaker from 2015 to 2017.

On October 5, 2015, Gowan announced his candidacy for Arizona's 1st congressional district, but withdrew before the Republican primary.

Career before politics Prior to entering politics, Gowan was a magazine distributor and karate instructor.

Political career Gowan made three unsuccessful bids for elected office before gaining election to the state Legislature. Between 2009–2010 he served as Vice Chair of the Military Affairs and Public Safety Committee. In 2010, he sponsored and introduced the House version of Arizona SB 1070.

In 2013 he was elected as Majority Leader of the Republican Caucus. Gowan maneuvered to oust fellow Republican Bob Robson from the chairmanship of the powerful Rules Committee due to Robson's support for Medicaid expansion. In the internal party race for the position, he defeated J.D. Mesnard and Eddie Farnsworth, and became the first state House speaker from southern Arizona in more than 30 years. Gowan referred himself to the Arizona Attorney General's Office; in a memorandum released in 2017, the AG's Office decided not to pursue charges, concluding that although the "substantial disregard for determining whether state funds for per diem, mileage and official travel were paid pursuant to proper authority" was potentially a violation of state law, "the violations were not undertaken knowingly or intentionally but were instead attributable to negligence" and therefore did not meet the criminal intent standard for a prosecution.

As state House speaker, Gowan generated controversy in April 2016 for revoking access of reporters to the House floor unless they agreed to an extensive criminal and civil background check. The publisher of the Arizona Capitol Times suggested that Gowan's change in the rule was in retaliation for its investigative journalism.

In 2016, Gowan sought the Republican nomination for the seat in the U.S. House of Representatives from the Arizona's 1st congressional district, but withdrew shortly before the Republican primary and endorsed Gary Kiehne.

In 2018, Gowan ran for and won seat in the Legislative District 14 seat in the Arizona Senate, succeeding Gail Griffin.

In 2020, Gowan sponsored legislation to change the Arizona Corporation Commission (the state's public utilities regulator) from being an elected body to being a body appointed by the governor with confirmation by the state Senate.

In 2021, Gowan sponsored legislation that would allow the Arizona state Legislature to override election results; he later dropped the bill.

Personal life Gowan graduated from the University of Arizona with a degree in Secondary Education and Social Studies. He is currently married with two children and lives in Sierra Vista, Arizona.