US House passes bill to rename Fountain Hills post office after C.T. Wright

The U.S. House on Tuesday passed a bill to rename a Fountain Hills post office after C.T. Wright, a longtime educator, civic leader and former chair of the Arizona Board of Executive Clemency.

The legislation, sponsored by Rep. David Schweikert, R-Ariz., passed unanimously and now awaits Senate action. Its introduction was supported by the entire Arizona congressional delegation.

"When you do something like a post office naming, it may seem trite, but it's one of those moments where you get both your senators and your Democrats and your Republicans and you got to go to each one and tell a story and so in these cantankerous days where everyone goes, yeah that's a good idea," Schweikert told The Arizona Republic. 

Citing Wright's work as a civil rights leader, educator and a Republican activist, Schweikert continued: "You start to stay this isn't my stereotype and that's what made him so powerful and also made it an easy story to tell. He was a little bit of everything."

Wright, who died in 2020 at the age of 78, was nominated for the clemency board in 2014. He became chairman two years later and Gov. Doug Ducey reconfirmed his appointment in 2019. 

Besides his work on the clemency board, Wright created the Light of Hope Institute to advance human rights globally. He also served in a supervisory roles at Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs), including as president at the Pennsylvania-based Cheyney University, the oldest HBCU in the country.

The building to be renamed is the Scottsdale-Fountains Hills Post Office, 16605 E. Avenue of the Fountains.

'A giant man of God': C.T. Wright, chairman of Arizona Board of Executive Clemency, dies at 78

Tara Kavaler is a politics reporter at The Arizona Republic. She can be reached by email at tara.kavaler@arizonarepublic.com or on Twitter @kavalertara.