John Keegan (judge)

Infobox_Politician
name = John Charles Keegan

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order =
office = Judge of Arizona Justice Court
term_start = 2007
term_end = Incumbent
lieutenant =
predecessor =
successor =
birth_date = birth date and age|1952|2|21
birth_place = Tempe, Arizona
death_date =
death_place =
party = Republican
spouse =Lisa Graham Keegan
profession =
20religion = Espicopalian John Charles Keegan is a judge of the Justice Court in Maricopa County, Arizona. [cite web |url= http://www.superiorcourt.maricopa.gov/JusticeCourts/GeneralInformation/locations.asp |title=Justice Courts |accessdate=2007-11-23] He was Mayor of Peoria, Arizona from June 1997 to January 2007.cite web |url= http://www.peoriaaz.com/mayorF.htm |title= Office of the Mayor, John C. Keegan |accessdate=2007-11-23] Keegan’s record of public service includes service in both the U.S Army and U.S. Navy and elected office in all three branches of government. Judge Keegan presides over one of the busiest limited jurisdiction courts in Arizona, with a staff of over 20 clerks, hearing officers, mediators, and judges pro tem. [cite web |url= http://www.supreme.state.az.us/stats/2008DataBookV2TOC.htm |title= THE ARIZONA COURTS: Limited Jurisdiction Data Report, FY 2008 accessdate=2008-10-01] In his current position, he sits on the Professional Standards Committee and is an outspoken advocate for increased accountability of judges. [cite web |url= http://epaper.peoriaaztoday.com/Default/Client.asp?Enter=true&skin=PToday&Daily=PT&GZ=T&AW=1204087100375 |title= Justice bill could chang e face of state's courts|accessdate=2008-03-03] [cite web |url=http://www.azcapitoltimes.com/group.cfm?sect=letters|title= Arizona Capitol Times, April 11, 2008|accessdate=2008-04-15] Additionally, Keegan is a juvenile hearing officer and actively involved in issues of underage drinking, truancy, and other youth offenses.

Political career

While he was mayor, the population of Peoria more than doubled and the city was consistently ranked as one of the fastest growing cities in the United States. Major initiatives were undertaken with respect to land use planning, environmental protection, cultural opportunities, and economic development. During his tenure, he lowered the property tax rate four times, and instituted an ethics committee for elected officials as well as appointed officers. Of particular note was the creation of the Peoria Center for the Performing Arts. Keegan lead a regional effort to protect Luke Air Force Base from encroachment and potential closure through the BRAC process by lobbying for state and federal legislation as well as local zoning protection for the base. His meetings with the Secretary of Defense, Secretary of the Air Force, Governor of Arizona, White House staff and congressional leaders ultimately was successful. [cite web |url= http://az.gov/webapp/portal/SiteSearch?sitehome=&sitename=&returnlink=&q=cache:MQrVG5j2ywwJ:www.peoriaaz.com/Focus/pdfs/Peoria-FOCUS-Winter-04-05.pdf+employee+profile&access=p&output=xml_no_dtd&ie=UTF-8&client=azportal&proxystylesheet=azportal&oe=UTF-8 |title= Peoria Focus, Winter 2004-05 |accessdate=2008-10-01] The Maricopa Association of Governments recognized Keegan in 2001 with the Desert Peaks Award for Distinguished Service for his commitment to regional cooperation. [cite web |url= http://www.mag.maricopa.gov/detail.cms?item=8098
title=Desert Peaks Award Winners|accessdate=2008-09-08] Keegan was instrumental in having the Challenger Center in Peoria, an aerospace and science education organization, officially designated as an affiliate of the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C.; one of only two such designations in the state of Arizona. [cite web |url= http://www.azchallenger.org
title=Challenger Center|accessdate=2008-09-08] In 2005 he led a statewide effort to expand access to the Pentagon Channel for service members in Arizona. [cite web |url= http://www.americasupportsyou.mil/americasupportsyou/Content.aspx?ID=25288833
title= Ariz. Mayor Working to Broaden Pentagon Channel's Audience|accessdate=2007-12-03] In July 2008 Money Magazine cited these and other developments as reasons to list Peoria in the Top 100 Places to Live. [cite web | url =http://money.cnn.com/magazines/moneymag/bplive/2008/snapshots/PL0454050.html | title = Top Places to Live |access d ate=2008-08-17] In 2005 and early 2006 Keegan was instrumental in raising over $400,000 in equipment, supplies, and cash to assist the City of Long Beach, Mississippi recover from Hurricane Katrina. [cite web |url= http://www.peoriaaz.com/council/docs/minutes/2005/121305spec7pmmin.pdf |title=Hurricane Katrina Adopted City Assistance
accessdate=2008-07-10|format=PDF] In 1991 to 1995, Keegan served two terms in the Arizona House of Representatives. In the legislature, Keegan chaired the Criminal Justice Appropriations Subcommittee, was Vice Chairman of the Judiciary Committee, and was the first Chairman of the Veterans and Military Affairs Committee. He was an active member of several state and local organizations dealing with juvenile crime and formed a collation of prosecutors, police agencies, and school officials to develop legislation and other solutions to the issue. As a member of the House government committee, he was a leading advocate for reform. In 1994 he was accused by a political opponent of campaign irregularities. No charges were ever brought, although he withdrew from the race for unrelated reasons. The officials charged with conducting the investigation into the allegations, Grant Woods, Arizona Attorney General, and Jane Dee Hull, Arizona Secretary of State and later governor, subsequently endorsed Keegan in his election for Mayor of Peoria. cite news | title = Keegan and Pearson question campaign tactics | pages = A-1 | publisher = Peoria Times, Vol. 45, No. 20 | date = May 16, 1997] In 2002 he was a Republican candidate for the United States Congress from the second congressional district in Arizona. [cite web |url= http://www.azpbs.org/horizon/transcripts/2002/june/june20_2002.htm
title= PBS political analysis |accessdate=2007-12-03] Senator John McCain was the chairman of Keegan's congressional campaign committee.

Earlier career

Since 1979 he was a consulting engineer and owned his own firm from 1987. John Keegan holds professional licenses as a Professional Engineer (civil) in Arizona, and three other states, and as a Registered Land Surveyor in Arizona. [cite web |url= http://www.btr.state.az.us/listings/professional_registrant2.asp?txtSearch=Keegan&lstDiscipline=%5BAll+disciplines%5D&txtZIP|title=Arizona Board of Technical Registration= |accessdate=2008-04-19] In 1990 he was elected the president of the Arizona Society of Professional Engineers. In 1991 he was awarded the state society's Distinguished Leadership Award. [cite web |url= http://www.azspe.org/|title=Arizona Society of Professional Engineers |accessdate=2008-04-15] In 1996 John Keegan was elected to the Maricopa County Charter Government Commission. The commission was an attempt to modernize the 19th century governance model for the county. [cite web |url= http://www.asu.edu/studentaffairs/studentmedia/archives/1996/96fall/sp/sp110496.html/|title=State Press Stories for Monday, 11/4/96|accessdate=2008-04-15] He served on active duty in the United States Army and retired with the rank of Commander from the US Naval Reserve in 2000. Most of his military service was in counterintelligence, special operations, or as a criminal investigations agent; and included numerous assignments in Europe, Central America, and Asia, particularly in the area of drug intervention operations. In his last several assignments, he was a special agent with the Naval Criminal Investigation Service. [cite web |url= http://www.azcentral.com/community/peoria/articles/0710gl-peokeegan0711-ON.html |title= John Keegan's career: Mayor, JP, undercover agent |accessdate=2007-11-23] Keegan received his undergraduate education at the United States Military Academy, West Point, New York, and Arizona State University, Tempe, Arizona and has a masters degree in planning cite web |url= http://www.peoriaaz.com/mayorF.htm |title= Office of the Mayor, John C. Keegan |accessdate=2007-11-23] from the Defense Intelligence Agency/Pacific-Western University program. [cite web |url= http://www.defenselink.mil/releases/release.aspx?releaseid=1238|title= DoD manpower and reserve affairs |accessdate=2007-11-23] He completed post-graduate studies in strategic planning at the Naval War College, Newport, Rhode Island, and in public policy at the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University. He is a graduate of the Department of Homeland Security's Federal Law Enforcement Training Center, in Georgia. Keegan’s family first came to Arizona during the Civil War. His grandfather, William Keegan and his great-grandfather, John J. Keegan were both mayors of Globe, Arizona. Additionally, John J. Keegan was a member of Arizona’s constitutional convention in 1910. cite web |url= http://www.peoriaaz.com/mayorF.htm |titl e= Office of the Mayor, John C. Keegan |accessdate=2007-11-23]

Personal information

In 2005, the National Council of the Boy Scouts of America presented John Keegan with the Silver Beaver Award for "distinguished service to youth." In 2008 he was elected president of the Grand Canyon Council of the Boy Scouts of America, which serves approximately 80,000 youth and adult volunteers throughout Arizona. In this capacity, he has been instrumental in establishing the first Boy Scout troop inside a juvenile correctional facility in the United States. He is a life member of the National Eagle Scout Association, and a former churchwarden of the Episcopal Church. [cite web |url= http://www.azdiocese.org/search?keyword=roosevelt|title= Episcopal Diocese of Arizona |accessdate=2007-09-25] His hobbies include firing his full scale American Civil War mountain howitzer. Keegan has provided political commentary to local and national radio and television networks such as PBS and NPR as well as commercial networks. . [cite web |url= http://www.azpbs.org/horizon/transcripts/2002/june/june20_2002.htm
title= PBS political analysis |accessdate=2007-12-03] He has had articles published by the Department of Defense and the U.S. Naval Institute magazine "Proceedings", [cite web |url= http://www. http://216.230.103.132/proceedings/pro1999toc.htm
title= The Reserves: Ready to Fight . . . World War I?|accessdate=2008-09-25] and "The Arilleryman". Since 1998, he has written monthly articles on state and local issues for the "

John Keegan is married to Lisa Graham Keegan, and they have five children.

ee also

*List of notable Eagle Scouts

References