Arizona governor denies embellishing circumstances of father’s death after drawing criticism

AZ gov denies embellishing details of dad’s death

PHOENIX — Gov. Jan Brewer denies that she embellished circumstances about the 1950s death of her father, whom she had said in a recent newspaper interview “died fighting the Nazi regime in Germany.”

Brewer’s father was a munitions worker in Nevada during World War II, which ended in 1945, and she has said in speeches that he died of lung disease after years of breathing poisonous fumes around harsh chemicals.

Brewer said Wednesday she’s proud of her father and has “no reason to embellish.”

State Democratic Party spokeswoman Jennifer Johnson accused Brewer, a Republican, of embellishing the circumstances of her father’s death in a misleading way to cast herself in a more sympathetic light.

THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. Check back soon for further information. AP’s earlier story is below.

PHOENIX (AP) — Gov. Jan Brewer was criticized Wednesday for saying in an interview that her father “died fighting the Nazi regime in Germany” when he actually died in the 1950s.

Brewer previously said in speeches that her father died after years of breathing poisonous fumes around harsh chemicals. He was a munitions worker in Nevada during the war.

State Democratic Party spokeswoman Jennifer Johnson accused Brewer, a Republican, of embellishing the circumstances of her father’s death in a misleading way to cast herself in a more sympathetic light.

Spokesmen for Brewer’s office and her election campaign did not immediately return calls for comment.

The governor’s latest statement regarding her father’s death was published Tuesday by The Arizona Republic in an article about Brewer’s decision to sign Arizona’s controversial new illegal immigration law on April 23.

The newspaper said the signing subjected Brewer to unanticipated personal attacks, including comments comparing her with Nazis.

“Knowing that my father died fighting the Nazi regime in Germany, that I lost him when I was 11 because of that … and then to have them call me Hitler’s daughter. It hurts. It’s ugliness beyond anything I’ve ever experienced,” she was quoted by the newspaper.

Brewer frequently begins speeches by describing her life experiences, focusing on challenges that faced her mother, a single parent, following her father’s death.

In prepared texts of March, April and May speeches to Arizona audiences, Brewer said her father, Wilford Drinkwine, died in the 1950s as a result of “years of breathing poisonous fumes around harsh chemicals.”

Drinkwine was a worker at a World War II munitions depot in Nevada, she said in the speeches.

Johnson said Brewer’s father may have died as a result of his wartime work, but Brewer’s description of the circumstances were misleading.

“It seems obvious that Jan Brewer stretched the truth to make herself a more sympathetic figure,” Johnson said. “This isn’t about her father. This is about the word choices that Jan Brewer made.”