John Will Odam (born May 19, 1943; died August 21, 2022) was an American lawyer, author, and politician from the
U.S. state
In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its sover ...
of
Texas
Texas (, ; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2 ...
. He served as
general counsel
A general counsel, also known as chief counsel or chief legal officer (CLO), is the chief in-house lawyer for a company or a governmental department.
In a company, the person holding the position typically reports directly to the CEO, and their ...
United States Army
The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, cla ...
before graduating from the
University of Texas
The University of Texas at Austin (UT Austin, UT, or Texas) is a public research university in Austin, Texas. It was founded in 1883 and is the oldest institution in the University of Texas System. With 40,916 undergraduate students, 11,075 ...
and
Baylor Law School
Baylor Law School is the oldest law school in Texas. Baylor Law School is affiliated with Baylor University and located in Waco, Texas. The school has been accredited by the American Bar Association since 1931 and has been a member of the Associat ...
. In 1973, he began working for the
Texas Attorney General
The Texas attorney general is the chief legal officer of the , where he eventually became Executive Assistant Attorney General before retiring and returning to practicing law privately. He later served as chairman of the Harris County
Democratic Party Democratic Party most often refers to:
*Democratic Party (United States)
Democratic Party and similar terms may also refer to:
Active parties Africa
*Botswana Democratic Party
*Democratic Party of Equatorial Guinea
*Gabonese Democratic Party
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and a special assistant to
Houston
Houston (; ) is the most populous city in Texas, the most populous city in the Southern United States, the fourth-most populous city in the United States, and the sixth-most populous city in North America, with a population of 2,304,580 in ...
mayor
Kathy Whitmire
Kathryn Jean Whitmire (née Niederhofer; born August 15, 1946) is an American politician, businesswoman, and accountant best known as the first woman to serve as Mayor of Houston
The following is a list of people who have served as mayor of t ...
, among other positions. He ran for Texas Attorney General in 1990, losing the Democratic primary to
Dan Morales
Daniel C. Morales (born April 24, 1956) is an American politician. He served as the 48th Texas Attorney General, Attorney General of Texas from January 15, 1991 through January 13, 1999, during the administrations of Governor of Texas, Governors ...
Jim Chapman Jim Chapman may refer to:
* Jim Chapman (congressman) (born 1945), American businessman and politician
** Jim Chapman Lake, a lake in Texas named after the politician
* Jim Chapman (footballer) (born 1965), Scottish footballer
* Jim Chapman (Intern ...
, Odam was one of two candidates for the 1996 Democratic nomination for Senate who was eliminated in the first round of voting. During his unsuccessful campaign for Senate, he emphasized his status as a political outsider who would be well-positioned to implement campaign finance reform; he also received media attention for visiting all 254 counties in Texas. In 2008, he served on the Obama/Biden Texas Finance Committee.