William J. Maier (September 13, 1876 in Seneca Falls,

Seneca County, New York Seneca County is located in the U.S. state of New York. As of the 2020 census, the population was 33,814. The county seat is Waterloo. It became a one county in 1822, which currently remains in effect and uses one locations as county seats a ...

– December 1941) was an American politician from

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

. He served seven terms in the

New York State Assembly The New York State Assembly is the lower house of the New York State Legislature, with the New York State Senate being the upper house. There are 150 seats in the Assembly. Assembly members serve two-year terms without term limits. The Assem ...

, and was briefly in 1922 New York State Comptroller.

Biography

Maier was educated at Mynderse Academy before attending Albany Law School, from which he graduated in 1900 with a

LL.B. degree Bachelor of Laws ( la, Legum Baccalaureus; LL.B.) is an undergraduate law degree in the United Kingdom and most common law jurisdictions. Bachelor of Laws is also the name of the law degree awarded by universities in the People's Republic of Ch ...

."William J. Maier," ''New York Red Book.'' Albany, NY: J.B. Lyon Company, 1906; pg. 153. Maier subsequently spent two years in Europe before going to work at the law firm of McDonald Brothers. He was a member of the

(Seneca Co.) in

1905 As the second year of the massive Russo-Japanese War begins, more than 100,000 die in the largest world battles of that era, and the war chaos leads to the 1905 Russian Revolution against Nicholas II of Russia (Shostakovich's 11th Symphony i ...

1906 Events January–February * January 12 – Persian Constitutional Revolution: A nationalistic coalition of merchants, religious leaders and intellectuals in Persia forces the shah Mozaffar ad-Din Shah Qajar to grant a constitution, ...

1914 This year saw the beginning of what became known as World War I, after Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria, heir to the Austrian throne was Assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand, assassinated by Serbian nationalist Gavrilo Princip. It als ...

1915 Events Below, the events of World War I have the "WWI" prefix. January * January – British physicist Sir Joseph Larmor publishes his observations on "The Influence of Local Atmospheric Cooling on Astronomical Refraction". *January 1 ...

and

1916 Events Below, the events of the First World War have the "WWI" prefix. January * January 1 – The British Royal Army Medical Corps carries out the first successful blood transfusion, using blood that had been stored and cooled. * ...

; and was Chairman of the Committee on Electricity, Gas and Water Supply in 1915, and Chairman of the Committee on Ways and Means in 1916. Upon his retirement from the Assembly, Maier was appointed as Deputy Fiscal Supervisor for the State of New York."Maier to Become Travis's Deputy,"
''New York Times,'' February 21, 1917. In February 1917, Maier was appointed as a Deputy to State Comptroller

Eugene M. Travis Eugene Mabbett Travis (June 10, 1863 in Brooklyn, Kings County, New York – July 25, 1940 in Brooklyn, New York City) was an American businessman and politician from New York (state), New York. He was New York State Comptroller from 1915 to 1920 ...

, effective March 1. Maier was later appointed Chief Deputy Comptroller by Governor-elect Nathan L. Miller on December 31, 1920. In May 1922, Maier was promoted to New York State Comptroller by Governor Miller to fill the unexpired term of Comptroller

James A. Wendell James Augustus Wendell (January 1, 1869 in Fort Plain, Montgomery County, New York – May 10, 1922 in Albany, Albany County, New York) was an American politician. Life He studied law for a time, but did not finish. Instead, he worked as a ...

following his death."Names Maier Controller,"
''New York Times,'' May 23, 1922. Maier lost a bid for re-election in

1922 Events January * January 7 – Dáil Éireann (Irish Republic), Dáil Éireann, the parliament of the Irish Republic, ratifies the Anglo-Irish Treaty by 64–57 votes. * January 10 – Arthur Griffith is elected President of Dáil Éirean ...

by Democrat James W. Fleming, however. After leaving government service, Maier was elected Chairman of the New York State Republican Committee, a role which he occupied from 1929 to 1930. He was additionally a delegate to the

1936 Republican National Convention The 1936 Republican National Convention was held June 9–12 at the Public Auditorium in Cleveland, Ohio. It nominated Governor Alfred Landon of Kansas for president and Frank Knox of Illinois for vice president. The convention supported many N ...

Footnotes

Works

"The State Comptroller: His Powers and Duties,"
in ''New York Red Book,'' Albany, NY: J.B. Lyon Company, 1922; pp. 21–23.

External links

''New York Times,'' December 16, 1941. (subscription required) {{DEFAULTSORT:Maier, William J 1876 births 1941 deaths People from Seneca Falls, New York Republican Party members of the New York State Assembly New York state comptrollers