William Irvin Cowin (April 28, 1938 – August 9, 2022) was an American jurist, politician, and state cabinet secretary who served as Massachusetts Secretary of Consumer Affairs from 1971 to 1972 and Massachusetts Secretary of Administration and Finance from 1972 to 1974. He was a candidate for

State Attorney General The state attorney general in each of the 50 U.S. states, of the federal district, or of any of the territories is the chief legal advisor to the state government and the state's chief law enforcement officer. In some states, the attorney genera ...

in 1974 and

Lieutenant Governor of Massachusetts The lieutenant governor of Massachusetts is the first in the line to discharge the powers and duties of the office of governor following the incapacitation of the Governor of Massachusetts. The constitutional honorific title for the office is His ...

in 1978.

Early career

Cowin graduated from

Harvard College Harvard College is the undergraduate college of Harvard University, an Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636, Harvard College is the original school of Harvard University, the oldest institution of higher lea ...

in 1959 and

Harvard Law School Harvard Law School (Harvard Law or HLS) is the law school of Harvard University, a private research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1817, it is the oldest continuously operating law school in the United States. Each class ...

in 1962. From 1963 to 1966 he was an Assistant

Massachusetts Attorney General The Massachusetts Attorney General is an elected Constitution of Massachusetts, constitutionally defined executive officer of the Government of Massachusetts, Massachusetts Government. The officeholder is the chief lawyer and law enforcement offic ...

. When Attorney General

Edward Brooke Edward William Brooke III (October 26, 1919 – January 3, 2015) was an American politician of the Republican Party, who represented Massachusetts in the United States Senate from 1967 until 1979. Prior to serving in the Senate, he served as t ...

was elected to the United States Senate, Cowin joined him as a legislative assistant. He returned to Massachusetts in 1968 as special counsel to Mayor of Boston Kevin White. In 1969 he was named Chairman of the State Public Utilities Commission by Governor

Francis W. Sargent Francis Williams Sargent (July 29, 1915 – October 22, 1998) was an American politician who served as the 64th governor of Massachusetts from 1969 to 1975. A member of the Republican Party, he previously served as the 63rd Lieutenant Govern ...

State cabinet secretary

In 1971, Cowin was appointed Massachusetts Secretary of Consumer Affairs. After Secretary of Administration and Finance ''Robert Yasi'' was appointed a judge in the Suffolk Probate Court, Cowin was chosen to succeed him. As Administration and Finance Secretary Cowin was in charge of outlining the state budget.

1974 Attorney General campaign

Cowin resigned from Sargent's cabinet on May 9, 1974 to run for State Attorney General. He officially entered the race four days later. He won the convention endorsement after his two Republican opponents,

Josiah Spaulding Josiah Augustus "Si" Spaulding (December 21, 1922 – March 27, 1983) was an American businessman, attorney, and politician. Education and military service Spaulding graduated from the Hotchkiss School and Yale University in 1947, where he was ...

and Charles Codman Cabot, Jr., chose to bypass the convention. During the campaign, Cowin struggled to raise money and trailed Spaulding in polls. Cowin finished third in the Republican primary with 24% of the vote. After the primary, Governor Sargent asked for state Republican chairman

William Barnstead William A. Barnstead (November 3, 1919 – July 9, 2009) was an American businessman and politician who served as chairman of the Massachusetts Republican State Committee from 1974 to 1975. Early career Barnstead was the founder of Consolidated Ma ...

's resignation and recommended that Cowin succeed him. Sargent later postponed his efforts to remove Barnstead to focus on his race against

Michael Dukakis Michael Stanley Dukakis (; born November 3, 1933) is an American retired lawyer and politician who served as governor of Massachusetts from 1975 to 1979 and again from 1983 to 1991. He is the longest-serving governor in Massachusetts history a ...

. In 1975, Cowin became a partner at Friedman & Atherton, LLP.

1978 Lieutenant Governor campaign

On May 25, 1978, Cowin and gubernatorial candidate Francis W. Hatch, Jr. announced Cowin's candidacy for lieutenant governor as Hatch's running mate. On September 19, 1978 he defeated State Representative

Peter McDowell Peter McDowell is an American politician who represented the 4th Barnstable District in the Massachusetts House of Representatives from 1975 to 1979. He was a candidate for Lieutenant Governor of Massachusetts in 1978. He lost to William I. Cowin ...

in the Republican Primary 128,914 votes to 86,250. On November 7, 1978, Hatch and Cowin lost the general election to

Edward J. King Edward Joseph King (May 11, 1925 – September 18, 2006) was an American politician who served as the 66th Governor of Massachusetts from 1979 to 1983. A member of the Democratic Party until 1985, he then became a member of the Republican ...

and

Thomas P. O'Neill III Thomas Phillip O'Neill III (born September 20, 1944) is an American politician and businessman who served as the 65th Lieutenant Governor of Massachusetts. Early life and education Born in Cambridge, Massachusetts, he is the son of Mildred Ann ...

53% to 47%.

Later career

From 2001 to 2008, Cowin was an associate justice of the

Massachusetts Appeals Court The Massachusetts Appeals Court is the intermediate appellate court of Massachusetts. It was created in 1972 as a court of general appellate jurisdiction. The court is located at the John Adams Courthouse at Pemberton Square in Boston, the same ...

Personal life

Cowin was married to retired

Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court The Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court (SJC) is the court of last resort, highest court in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts. Although the claim is disputed by the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania, the SJC claims the di ...

Justice Judith Cowin. They have three grown children.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cowin, William I. 1938 births 2022 deaths Harvard College alumni Massachusetts Republicans Judges of the Massachusetts Appeals Court Politicians from Newton, Massachusetts Massachusetts Secretaries of Administration and Finance Harvard Law School alumni