Helen Purcell served as Maricopa County Recorder from 1989 to 2017. During that time, she oversaw dramatic advances in the electoral system and changes in public attitudes. Even after his retirement, he continues to strive to strengthen the relationship of trust.
How did you become involved in politics?
I did a lot of work working with title companies to close loans. My friendships revolved around people I worked with. I became very good friends with the president’s secretary at that company, and I often hung out with her. That’s where I eventually met my husband, Joe.
My son was 5 years old and he had a 9 year old boy at the time. For a while, I just worked part-time. Joe finally said, “Why don’t you stay home?” So I quit my job.
One day Joe came home and said: And since you have a lot of time, you might be able to help him. ”I don’t know anything about politics. I had never been involved in politics at all. But it’s okay.
I started working for him a few days a week. And in 1974, the election year, I worked more and more and eventually became a full-time employee. Russ Williams was the candidate. The chairman was Jane Hull. That’s how I met Jane. Jane and I were born in Kansas the same year. She was born on August 8th and I was born on October 10th, so we were very close in age. We both moved to Arizona the same year. We had many similarities. We became very good friends really quickly.
I also worked as an accountant, but I was mainly responsible for organizing services for Russ’ election campaign. My circle of friends expanded to include everyone I met on the campaign. Our office was small, but when Russ won the primary, all the Republican candidates for state and federal office moved into a big, big building in North Central. So you weren’t just involved in your own campaign, you were involved in all the other campaigns as well.
It was a good education for me. Until then, I knew nothing about politics. I was voting. That was it.
What excites you about politics? What kept you there?
That really stuck with me and made me feel like I could do something. I’ve always loved working. I was disappointed when my husband told me to quit work and stay home. Because that’s not me. I’ve been working since I was 14 or 15, so I had the opportunity to be a part of this and I had no idea what the outcome was going to be. So you’re always working hard to do something. Are you going to succeed?
What made you decide to take up public office?
My husband was an attorney for the city of Phoenix from 1970 to 1976, and we used to go to city events a lot, and when people found out he was in the city, they always complained about things the city was doing. I was surprised that it was. I didn’t. And I was surprised that so many of them didn’t vote.
I was just surprised. They are complaining about this. Why don’t they try to do something about it? We wanted people to participate. That was something that struck me the whole time I was a recorder.
How was your first campaign?
I personally feel that women should be more qualified for the job than men when participating in election campaigns. I noticed that they almost never ask men what their qualifications are.
they always ask women. A few years have passed since then, and things have changed a lot, but that’s one thing that struck me. People always asked me what my background and experience was.
The office does two things: registering voters, managing voter rolls, and recording real estate documents, and I had experience in both, so I joined the company with something I could offer. I thought so.
I was one of three Republican candidates, but I never thought I had a chance. One was a member of the Scottsdale City Council. There was a gentleman from the East Valley. He was a graduate of Princeton University and always wore a Princeton tie. It was a little difficult because he always treated me with disrespect because I didn’t have a college degree.
Jane Hull got me involved with the Republican Women’s Club, so I became a member of a very large club and they gave me a lot of support and encouragement to get into the race. they were very helpful. We thought we had to tell people somehow. I didn’t have much money. There were some signs out and it certainly wasn’t like today, but a few people were out and about studying the traffic patterns so we were able to get the best corners . So, that’s all well and good, but we decided to take copies of all the petitions signed by all three of us. My women’s group sent postcards to everyone who signed the petition, and I just thanked them for signing the Recorder’s petition. I didn’t say they signed mine. I said thank you for signing the petition.
That took several weeks. We sent it out a little before the election and I really think it made a difference. If someone cares enough to sign the petition, they’ll probably vote.
How did it feel to win?
I’m the most surprised person on the planet. It wasn’t a landslide victory, but it was a victory. It was scary. Now, I had previously held positions such as supervisor, so I wasn’t new to that sort of thing, but it was different. You are in charge. The expense is up to you.
What changes have you made during your tenure?
I created a group of people to research what can be done to automate the office. I went to Congress and asked for funding for that, and I asked if they could take a portion of that money every time a document is recorded and use it just to automate the Recorder’s Office. . Other recorders joined in and ultimately approved this, setting the maximum amount that could be claimed or diverted at $4. Every time a document is recorded, $4 is deposited into this fund.
Well, at some point you’ll have enough money to invest and do something. So this group that I put together with people from the office, people from the title and mortgage business, and people who were IT savvy came up with a plan to automate the office. We were able to write our own program for a somewhat decent voter registration system. My IT department had 25 people. Some of the other offices in the county were very jealous of what we had accomplished. We have constantly upgraded during elections.
What was the biggest challenge you faced?
There was a sheriff’s race between Arpaio and Penzone. It was the first time we saw a mob. That was the first time I had to put in bulletproof glass because there were people trying to lynch me on election night. And it took 14 days to count the votes in that election. It was a terrible time. It was the first time I had seen something like that. I’ve always had a question: why did you do this? And why can’t we see results sooner? And so on, but I never saw people yell at me that they were going to hurt me physically, that I was going to hurt my children, or anything like that.
I have never seen a perfect election. Something will always happen. No one came at 6 o’clock in the morning. Once, we had to move our polling station to another location on Election Day because of a bomb threat. A microburst occurred and the roof of the polling place was blown off. We moved our polling place to the back of an 18-wheeler. Because it was the only one available. One year we were printing our ballots and the printing company went bankrupt and the courts locked up all the facilities that had our ballots in them. That’s what you’re dealing with.
How do you stay focused when you encounter these challenges, especially in stressful or intense moments? How do you stay grounded?
We knew we were doing the best we could and that our employees were very well trained and knowledgeable. I always felt so reassured that I had good people and that they were doing the best they could.
What philosophy has guided you throughout your life?
I always thought that if you want to get any position, you have to work hard. I think the important thing is to enjoy your family. You really have to keep yourself balanced. I’m a Libra so I’m lucky. Libra is about balance.
