J Grant Woods

Former Arizona Attorney General Grant Woods, the prosecutor and politician who frequently broke with his longtime party to support Democratic candidates and causes, died Saturday October 23 2021 from a heart attack. He was 67 years old. A graduate of Mesa’s Westwood High School, Occidental College in Los Angeles and Arizona State University’s law school, Woods cut his political teeth as chief of staff to fellow Republican and then-U.S. Rep. McCain in the early 1980s. He went on to become partner at a Mesa law firm, where he worked until deciding to run for office himself in 1990. He jumped into the race for state attorney general after longtime Republican incumbent Bob Corbin withdrew before the primary. He also married local television news anchor Marlene Galan that year. During his two terms in office, Woods made a name for himself as a leading attorney in a national, multibillion-dollar settlement with the tobacco industry over cigarette-related health dangers. In 1995, his peers named him the top attorney general in the country. Woods endorsed Democrat Terry Goddard for state attorney general in 2002, for instance. He also helped campaign for Janet Napolitano and Harry Mitchell in their respective winning bids for governor and Congress. Later, unable to swallow then-candidate Donald Trump’s controversial politics, he endorsed Democrat Hillary Clinton for president in the 2016 election. Still, Woods remained in the good graces of powerful Republicans and influential Phoenix civic leaders, such as sports mogul Jerry Colangelo. He was a founding member of the Phoenix, Arizona law firm of Grant Woods, PC., where he specialized in litigation across a broad range of issues. He represented a variety of high-profile clients, including the Phoenix Coyotes, Toyota Motor Co., Meritage Homes, Best Western International and the Service Employees International Union. After John McCain's death Woods changed his party registration from Republican to Democrat and endorsed Democrat Kyrsten Sinema's bid for Arizona’s U.S. Senate seat. Grant held a B.A. degree from Occidental College and a J.D. degree from Arizona State University. Woods is survived by his wife, Marlene, and their five children: Austin, Lauren, Cole, Dylan and Ava.