Odell Pollard (April 29, 1927 - May 12, 2015) was a lawyer and politician in Arkansas. He switched from being a Democrat to becoming a member of the Republican Party.
In the 1960s, he chaired the Arkansas Republican Party. In 1967 he addressed the
Urban League
The National Urban League, formerly known as the National League on Urban Conditions Among Negroes, is a nonpartisan historic civil rights organization based in New York City that advocates on behalf of economic and social justice for African Am ...
of Little Rock.
He had a law firm in
Searcy, Arkansas
Searcy ( ) is the largest city and county seat of White County, Arkansas, United States. According to 2019 Census Bureau estimates, the population of the city is 23,767. It is the principal city of the Searcy, AR Micropolitan Statistical Area ...
, for many years and worked to transform Arkansas from Democratic Party domination into two-party state.
He was a
liberal Republican and a close ally of
Winthrop Rockefeller
Winthrop Rockefeller (May 1, 1912 – February 22, 1973) was an American politician and philanthropist. Rockefeller was the fourth son and fifth child of American financer John D. Rockefeller Jr. and Abby Aldrich Rockefeller. He is one of the g ...
.
He was born in Union Hill, Arkansas. He graduated from
University of Arkansas School of Law in 1950.
[
]
Further reading
*“State GOP Elects Pollard Chairman, Hears Caution Plea.” by Mike Barrier ''Arkansas Gazette'', December 11, 1966, pages 1A and 2A.
*“New GOP Chairman Was Once a Democrat, Never Voted That Way.” ''Arkansas Gazette'' December 18, 1966, page 24A.
*''Agenda for Reform: Winthrop Rockefeller as Governor of Arkansas, 1967–1971'' by Cathy Kunzinger Urwin, Fayetteville: University of Arkansas Press, 1991
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Pollard, Odell
1927 births
2015 deaths
Arkansas lawyers
Arkansas politicians
University of Arkansas School of Law alumni
Arkansas Democrats
Arkansas Republicans
21st-century American politicians
21st-century American lawyers