Kinney was born in Ohio, leaving home at the age of 14 and traveling to Colorado, where he remained for several years, before heading to New Mexico.
[5] Sometime in late 1888, or early January 1889, Kinney purchased the Globe Soda Water Works.
[7][8] In 1891, Globe experienced a devastating flood, when Pinal Creek, swollen by two days of torrential rain, overran its banks, destroying many houses and businesses.
[17] The two sold their rights on 25 mining claims in the Sleeping Beauty Mountains to the Porphyry Reserve Copper Company in 1930 for $250,000.
[4][25][26] Kinney resigned as president of the Pinal Mountain Water Company, due to a conflict of interest with his new mayoral duties.
[28] However, Kinney, agreed to rescind his resignation, as long as the council considered passing the ordnance he authored reducing certain city employees' salaries.
[30] Initially it was reported that all five of the Democrats in Gila County, which included future governor, George W. P. Hunt, won the election.
This was in response to a large number of Slavonian workers who took their earnings and sent the vast bulk back home to Slavonia, removing those funds from the local economy.
[35][36][37] However, while his petitions gained the requisite number of votes, he failed to get them in to the Secretary of State's office in time for them to be included on the November 1912 ballot.
[47] Shortly after his defeat in the mayoral Democratic primary, Kinney announced his intention to seek re-election to the state senate in the fall.
[50] When queried by former Governor Hunt in June 1926 on whether or not he intended to once again run for re-election, Kinney replied, "I don't want to, but will go if they send me.
[54] Despite a Democratic primary filled with upsets, Kinney was re-nominated to run in the general election, which he also won in November.