PHOENIX — State Sen. Franklin "Jake" Flake, a former House speaker and 11-year veteran of the Legislature, died unexpectedly Sunday at his Snowflake home. Flake, 72, who broke eight ribs after being thrown from a horse two weeks ago, collapsed and could not be revived.
It was not known whether his death was directly related to the May 24 injuries.
Flake told Capitol Media Services at the time that despite the injuries from the "ornery mare," he expected to return to the Capitol before the session ends.
Daughter Celeste Dana said Flake was "feeling a lot better," even attending the wedding Saturday of one of his 55 grandchildren.
"He didn't do any dancing," she said, but he was feeling so well he did not use his oxygen tank Saturday night.
Dana said that may have led to the Sunday fall onto the broken ribs.
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Gov. Janet Napolitano, in a prepared statement, called Flake "a leader of great strength and wisdom who worked with passion on behalf of the people of Arizona."
That passion was exemplified in his recent efforts to void the governor's executive order directing the Department of Environmental Quality to enact new "greenhouse gas" emission standards for cars and trucks sold in Arizona.
He even pushed a measure to strip DEQ of that power — as well as block yet-to-be-enacted rules for industries — through the Legislature, only to have it vetoed.
Despite that, Flake was working on a way to get around the veto by attaching the same provisions to another environmental bill with provisions the governor wants.
Born and raised in Snow-flake, Flake owned the F-Bar Ranch with three of his brothers and was one of the last real cowboys in the Legislature.
First elected in 1996, Flake served as speaker of the state House of Representatives in 2003 and 2004.
He represented District 5, a large swatch of central-eastern Arizona including all or parts of seven counties.
Flake played a significant role in forcing the resignation of Jim Irvin, then a member of the Arizona Corporation Commission.
Irvin had been found guilty in a civil trial in federal court of using his position as a member and chairman of the panel to thwart a bid by Southern Union Co. to take over Southwest Gas.
When Irvin refused to quit, Flake was at first slow to act.
Realizing Irvin's lawsuit was costing taxpayers money, the speaker hired Melvin McDonald, the former U.S. attorney for Arizona, as a special prosecutor to see whether grounds existed to impeach the commissioner.
Irvin eventually quit after McDonald expanded his probe to see whether Irvin's wife, Carol, had broken any laws.
Flake also could be fiercely partisan. In 2004, he used his position as speaker to strip two Republicans of their committee chairmanships: Pete Hershberger of Tucson and Tom O'Halleran of Sedona.
Flake justified the moves, saying the pair were disloyal.
"I have given my chair(men) my trust and my loyalty, and I expect it back in return," he said after the 2004 incident.
The issue surrounded changes to Child Protective Services, where Hershberger in particular, as chairman of the Human Services Committee, sought to get more money for the agency than many of the more conservative Republicans wanted.
Flake said that move was not returning the "faith and loyalty" he had given both of them.
Flake's nephew, Jeff, a son of Jake's older brother, is one of the state's eight members of the U.S. House of Representatives.
The younger Flake said all members of the family were encouraged to get involved in politics, pointing out that his own father, Dean, was mayor of Snowflake.
And he said the family's politics probably started with his great-grandfather, Jake's grandfather.
"An outlaw shot through his ear and killed his brother, Charles," Jeff Flake said.
"So he had a bad ear," he continued. That required him to sit close to the radio in the "Big House" in Snowflake "and listen to current events."
Despite his Republican registration, Flake developed a close relationship with state Rep. Jack Brown, D-Snowflake, who began serving in the Legislature in the 1960s.
"He supported me in the House for a long, long time," Brown recalled. When Flake decided to run for the House himself in 1996, Brown said he was invited to a fundraiser.
"I guess I was the only Democrat there," he said.
"We worked on a lot of things together," Brown said of the two lawmakers who represented the same district in Northeast Arizona.
The only exceptions were "pure political issues," when each side had to vote a certain way out of party loyalty.
A 1960 graduate of Arizona State University — the first graduating class after the name change from Arizona State College — he went back to work on his father's ranch before purchasing the operation with three of his brothers.
Flake was married for more than 48 years to Mary Louise. They have 13 children, 55 grandchildren and one great-granddaughter.
What's next
State law now requires Secretary of State Jan Brewer to formally notify Randy Pullen, the chairman of the Arizona Republican Party. Pullen then must call a meeting of the Republican precinct committee members from Navajo County, where Flake lived.
Since the Legislature is now in session, those committee members then have five days to submit three names to the county Board of Supervisors. All the nominees must be Republicans, like Flake.
The board must choose from that list.
That person will serve through the end of the year, when all 90 legislative seats are up for grabs.
The timing of Flake's death, however, creates other problems.
The deadline for candidates of recognized parties to file nominating papers for the September primary was last week. And Flake was unopposed in his bid for another term as state senator.
Pullen said Sunday that party officials will be meeting today to determine the legal options that exist — if any — for putting a name on the primary ballot.
There are procedures for candidates to run in the September primary as write-ins, or for individuals to run without party designation in November.
