Arizona Speaker Reshapes House, From the Carpets on Up

When lawmakers in the Arizona House of Representatives went looking for a new speaker in late 2014, they turned to David M. Gowan, an unassuming Republican legislator whom colleagues on both sides of the aisle saw as someone they could work with.

But Mr. Gowan has proved to be anything but. He has angered lawmakers from the right and left since assuming the post in January 2015, putting his own stamp on a legislative body that has garnered its share of attention for its far-right leanings on issues like immigration and abortion.

Right after approving a budget last year that forced state agencies to make another round of cuts, Mr. Gowan, a conservative who makes his home in a rural border county in southeastern Arizona, embarked on a redecorating spree.

The House floor got an elegant carpet. Lawmakers got reupholstered chairs. His leadership team got cherry wood office furniture. He also planned for showers and a multiuse room in the basement, but shelved the project after half of his Republican caucus chided his “excessive spending” in a letter.