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John Pintek, 1919-2006

MG-112

Biographical Note

John Pintek, Arizona lawyer, Cochise County Attorney, and Arizona Senator, was born in Bisbee, Arizona on December 4, 1914. In 1912, his parents, Mike and Katie Pintek, arrived to Bisbee from Croatia via Michigan and Texas. John Pintek was raised by his mother, in the family’s grocery store, after the death of this father due to miner’s consumption in 1921.

In 1933 he entered the University of Arizona and in 1939 he received a law degree from the University and was admitted to the Arizona State Bar that same year. He returned to Bisbee, opened a law firm and decided to run for County Attorney. At 25 years of age, he won and became the youngest person to ever hold that position in the State of Arizona. In 1942, he joined the U.S. Army where he served in the Counter Intelligence Corps. After his discharge in 1945, he married Clara Edwards, returned to Bisbee and practiced law there for over 50 years.

Pintek was often known as the poor man's lawyer. He was active in fighting for social justice, including miners’ rights, and benefits for miners’ widows and children. Pintek won his campaign as a candidate for the Arizona State Senate and was a member of the 19th Arizona Legislature, 1949 to 1950. He was reelected to the Senate in 1950 and served in the 20th Arizona Legislature, 1951 to 1952.

He lived by the motto "Honesty is the Best Policy." Discouraged by what he perceived as endemic corruption, Pintek returned to private practice. After his Senate career, he became president of Fort Huachuca Enterprises, a non-profit corporation that undertook to operate Fort Huachuca after it was abandoned by the U.S. Army.

Pintek was a member of the Democratic Party and made his ranch available to the Cochise County Democratic Party's annual picnic for over 25 years. Clara Edwards Pintek died in February 1995. John and Clara had two children.

Scope and Content Note

The personal papers of John Pintek consist of 4 linear feet of archival material arranged in three series: (1) Personal Papers, 1919 – 2006, (2) Court Cases/Trials 1921 – 2003, and (3) Multimedia Collection.

The bulk of his collection consists of Pintek’s documentation related to the administration of the Alvena M. Stover Estate. John Pintek was appointed administrator of the estate and acted as guardian and trustee of the two Stover minors per Alvena M. Stover’s will and last testament. Pintek appeared before the Arizona Supreme Court to clarify an issue with the estate (Pintek v. Krucker, Case #6550 and 6551).

Restrictions

Access Restrictions

All photocopies of original materials are made by staff. We reserve the right to refuse copy services based on physical condition and possible damage to the materials.

For preservation purposes, if microfilm copies are available, patrons will use the microfilm first.

Under Arizona Revised Statute 39-141, public records used for commercial purposes have additional requirements. Please contact the Arizona State Archives for further information.

Copyright

It is the researcher’s responsibility to determine the copyright status of materials he or she uses. The Arizona State Library, Archives and Public Records is not legally or financially responsible for any copyright infringement by researchers.

Many documents held by the Arizona State Archives come under the Public Record law (ARS 41-1350). Documents created by the government are not copyrighted. The United States of America Copyright Law (P.L. 94-553, effective Jan. 1, 1978) extends statutory rights of authority to unpublished works which were previously protected by literary property rights under common law. Such works do not have to be registered with the Copyright Office to receive protection under the law.

Related Material

For additional materials in the Arizona State Archives please consult the following collections: Legislative Oral Histories, OH 1.

Access Terms

Accession Number

A-2011-10.

Administrative Information

Custodial History

Collection donated by family members of John Pintek.

Credit Line

Bibliographic citations must cite the title of the record group(s), the box or volume number, the History and Archives Division and the name of the Arizona State Library, Archives and Public Records in full. Please use the following example:

Governor George W.P. Hunt to Ely Sims, November 21, 1919, Box 14, Office of the Governor, RG 1, History and Archives Division, Arizona State Library, Archives and Public Records.

Processing Information

The John Pintek Papers, consisting of originally 6 storage cartons, were donated to the History and Archives Division (The Arizona State Archives) in 2011. Staff retained original labeling of folders, but the folders and loose documents were not in any discernable order. Duplicate and extraneous records went back to the family per their request. Multimedia items are stored separately from the rest of the collection and are described as they were originally labeled.

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