Arizona's Senate Ousts Governor, Voting Him Guilty of Misconduct

The Arizona Senate today convicted Evan Mecham of two charges of misconduct, removing him from office, in the first impeachment trial of a governor in almost 60 years.

The Senate voted 21 to 9, one vote more than was needed to convict, that Mr. Mecham, a first-term Republican, had obstructed justice by trying to thwart an investigation into charges that an aide had made a death threat against a grand jury witness. Ten of the 19 Republicans voted to convict.

The Senate then voted 26 to 4 that Mr. Mecham had committed ''high crimes, misdemeanors or malfeasance'' by illegally lending $80,000 in state money to his suburban Phoenix Pontiac dealership. Fifteen Republicans voted to convict on that charge.

With the first conviction, Secretary of State Rose Mofford, a Democrat who has been Acting Governor, officially succeeded Mr. Mecham.

''Well, they don't like my politics,'' Mr. Mecham said with a smile as he left the Senate. ''So we've finished a political trial.'' Keeping Options Open

Asked what plans he had for future, he said he would probably decide Tuesday. ''We'll hold all our options open,'' he said.

Mr. Mecham still faces a criminal trial on election law charges stemming from a $350,000 loan to his campaign.

After the impeachment votes before a packed gallery, the Senate fell three votes short of the necessary two-thirds needed to prohibit Mr. Mecham from ever holding public office. The vote was 17 to 13.

Thus Mr. Mecham apparently remains eligible to run in a special election for Governor, originally called in an effort to recall him from office, to be held May 17. Besides Mr. Mecham, the major candidates are Governor Mofford; Carolyn Warner, a Democrat and former State Superintendent of Public Instruction; and two Republicans, former Representative John Rhodes and Jack Londen, a Republican National Committeeman.

Mrs. Mofford, in a statement, declared ''the end of some difficult times in Arizona'' and urged residents to purge ''our hearts of suspicion and hate.''

Today's vote capped more than a year of controversy that has fractured the state's Republican party, threatening to reshape the political landscape of Arizona, long a bastion of conservatism.

Mr. Mecham retains an ardent following among fellow Mormons and many conservatives. They have repeatedly threatened to start drives to recall from office any Senator who voted to convict. Troubles Started Early

The Governor's problems began almost as soon as he took office in January 1987, after being elected in a three-way race with 39 percent of the vote. In what was the first of a series of controversies, he antagonized blacks and others by canceling a state holiday to honor the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. By coincidence, the trial concluded on the 20th anniversary of the civil rights leader's assassination.

The outspoken Governor repeatedly dismissed his growing legion of critics. In sizzling counterattacks, he offended one group after another, fueling a petition drive to recall him from office and providing ammunition to the impeachment proceedings.

He also alienated many potential allies in the State Legislature by controversial nominations, including a liquor commissioner suspected of involvement in a slaying in Mexico, an education director who testified that teachers should not contradict parents even if they told children that the world is flat, and a tax commissioner who had not paid his state taxes.

The State House of Representatives impeached the Governor by a 46-to-14 vote on Feb. 5 in what was tantamount to an indictment. A few days later, the House approved and sent to the Senate three broad articles of impeachment. Trial Prejudice Feared

Besides the two charges voted today, the House impeached Mr. Mecham on charges that the Governor violated state campaign financing laws by concealing a $350,000 campaign loan from a Tempe developer. But the Senate, which sat as judge and jury, last week voted to dismiss that article without hearing any evidence.

The surprise decision stunned even the motion's sponsors. Several Senators said they voted to dimiss the article, considered the most serious of the three, to avoid prejudicing Mr. Mecham's April 21 criminal trial on the same charge.

The last governor to be impeached was Henry Horton of Tennessee, who was acquitted in 1931. The last governor to be convicted in an impeachment trial was Henry S. Johnston of Oklahoma, who was found quilty in 1929 of working with the Ku Klux Klan. Since the the United States was formed, 16 governors have been impeached and Mr. Mecham is the seventh to be convicted.

In arguments before today's votes, Senator Jan Brewer, a Republican, said she felt Mr. Mecham ''made a serious error,'' but added, ''I do not think it is sufficient to remove him from office.''

But Jesus Higuera, a Democrat from Window Rock who voted to convict. said, ''The only defense we've heard is ignorance of the law.'' Pictured as a Ruthless Crook

The trial had concluded with prosecutors portraying Mr. Mecham, the first Republican Governor in Arizona in 12 years, as a ruthless crook who lied, cheated and bullied to get his way.

In their closing arguments, Mr. Mecham's defense lawyers described the Governor as a victim of a political witchhunt. They portrayed him as a crusader persecuted by powerful enemies who have ''twisted and tortured'' the facts to ''bring down this administration.''

In a cross between a revival meeting and country fair, about 300 supporters of the Governor rallied outside the Senate. They danced and clapped to a warbling, turquoise-clad soul and country duo, which sang a tune called ''My Heart's on Fire for Ev,'' and a brass band, The Brunson Brothers, which belted out ''Flight of the Bumble Bee'' and several other jazzed-up versions of the classics.

Photo of Gov. Evan Mecham (AP)