James “Jim” F. McNulty, entered the United States Army, and served until the end of WWII. After WWII, McNulty entered the University of Arizona College of Law, graduating in 1951. McNulty served as city attorney for Bisbee, Tombstone, and Huachuca City. He was a member of the many boards and various volunteer and charitable organizations throughout Southeastern Arizona.

In 1968, McNulty was elected to the Arizona State Senate, where he served until 1975. McNulty served on councils and delegations for the Democratic Party, ran for the House of Representatives in 1976 and for the U.S. Senate in 1980 but was defeated. McNulty successfully ran for the House of Representatives in 1982, but was defeated in his re-election bid by Jim Kolbe. 

In 1985 McNulty became a senior partner with the firm of Bilby and Shoenhair. He served briefly in Guatemala with the Peace Corps. After his stint in the Peace Corps, he practiced law with the firm of Brown and Bain in Tucson. He served as a member of the Board of Governors of the State Bar Board of Governors and was a member of the Arizona Bar Foundation, the American Bar Association, and the Pima County Bar Association. He passed away on June 30, 2009.

This collection documents the activities of James F. McNulty. The political papers housed in this collection include materials from 1957 to 1985, and consist of correspondence, reports, minutes, pamphlets from the 1960 Democratic National Convention and material associated with a 1962 national delegation to the USSR. The collection contains documentation concerning McNulty’s various volunteering activities, his involvement in 4-H, Arizona Board of Regents, Arizona State Bar Association, Arizona State Board of Education, the Catholic Church, the Cochise County Hospital Association and the Copper Queen Hospital Association, Health Systems Agency of Southern Arizona, Arizona State Hospital, the League of Arizona Cities and Towns, and the University of Arizona College of Law. It also includes personal materials, including the records of McNulty’s business, files relating to Cochise Junior College and DSET, personal and family material spanning 1953 to 1986. It also contains official and unofficial photographs and postcards of McNulty in the military, at the University of Arizona, and throughout his state political career. Also included are several collections of newspaper clippings and scrapbooks, as well as photographic slides from various travels to Russia, Canada and the American Southwest. Finally, there is a grouping of certificates and memorabilia reflecting McNulty’s dedication to his profession, politics, the University of Arizona and the state of Arizona.