William F. O'Donnell (February 6, 1922 – September 4, 2004) was a

Wisconsin Wisconsin () is a state in the upper Midwestern United States. Wisconsin is the 25th-largest state by total area and the 20th-most populous. It is bordered by Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake M ...

politician and the second

Milwaukee County Executive The Milwaukee County Executive serves as the chief executive officer of Milwaukee County, Wisconsin. Vested with veto power and appointing authority over department heads, the county executive oversees the administrative functions of county gover ...

, serving from 1976 to 1988. Prior to serving as county executive, O'Donnell was the chairman of the

Milwaukee County Board of Supervisors The Milwaukee County Board of Supervisors is the legislative branch of the government of Milwaukee County, Wisconsin, United States. Supervisors are elected to the board in nonpartisan elections. There are 18 supervisors. The county board has sev ...

from 1975 to 1976.

Early career

O'Donnell was raised on Milwaukee's near west side, where his father worked as a

plumber A plumber is a tradesperson who specializes in installing and maintaining systems used for potable (drinking) water, and for sewage and drainage in plumbing systems.

. O'Donnell attended Lincoln High School but dropped out at age 17 to seek employment, as his family's income was severely affected by the

Great Depression The Great Depression (19291939) was an economic shock that impacted most countries across the world. It was a period of economic depression that became evident after a major fall in stock prices in the United States. The economic contagio ...

. He served in the

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during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

and was employed as a factory and brewery worker in Milwaukee following his discharge. In 1948, O'Donnell was elected to the

. A

political liberal Liberalism is a Political philosophy, political and moral philosophy based on the Individual rights, rights of the individual, liberty, consent of the governed, political equality and equality before the law."political rationalism, hostilit ...

and supporter of City of Milwaukee interests on the board, O'Donnell introduced legislation in 1958 establishing the office of

. In 1964, County Executive

John Doyne John Lyons Doyne (March 13, 1912 – January 29, 1997) was a Wisconsin politician and the first County Executive of Milwaukee County, Wisconsin. Born in Chicago, Illinois, Doyne received his bachelor's degree from Marquette University and the ...

appointed O'Donnell as chairman of the Milwaukee County Welfare Board; in May 1975, O'Donnell's fellow county supervisors elected him as county board chairman. A transit advocate who commuted to work by bus, O'Donnell oversaw Milwaukee County's acquisition of the privately run local bus system in 1975. Upon Doyne's retirement in 1976, O'Donnell ran to replace him as county executive. He emerged first in the February 1976 primary and defeated

Milwaukee County District Attorney The Milwaukee County District Attorney is a state constitutional officer responsible for criminal prosecution in Milwaukee County, Wisconsin. The current district attorney is John T. Chisholm, who has served since 2007. History The first Milwau ...

E. Michael McCann Edward Michael McCann (born 1936) is an American attorney and politician who served as district attorney of Milwaukee County, Wis. from 1969 to 2007. A Democrat, McCann gained recognition for the length of his tenure and his successful record as ...

in the April general election.

Tenure as County Executive

O'Donnell characterized his political persona as that of a "good solid anchor". As county executive, he centralized county administration, creating cabinet positions by removing administrators' civil service protections and abolishing independent agencies such as the Welfare Board and the Milwaukee County Park Commission. O'Donnell expanded the county's administrative staff, was the first county executive to appoint a chief of staff, and sought to reduce the county's property tax levy. Generally supportive of

welfare Welfare, or commonly social welfare, is a type of government support intended to ensure that members of a society can meet basic human needs such as food and shelter. Social security may either be synonymous with welfare, or refer specificall ...

programs, he directly supervised county services for the elderly and disabled and worked to reduce number of individuals on county welfare rolls. Despite his long tenure as a county supervisor, O'Donnell clashed at times with the board and his successor as chairman, F. Thomas Ament. In 1980, after Ament supported O'Donnell's general election challenger, O'Donnell backed another supervisor's unsuccessful bid to unseat Ament from the board chairmanship.

Schulz firing and 1988 reelection campaign

In 1984, O'Donnell appointed Chicago budget official Dave Schulz, a Milwaukee native, as Milwaukee County budget director. In 1985, O'Donnell appointed Schulz as director of the Milwaukee County Parks Department; the charismatic Schulz gained notoriety for his promotion of the park system. In 1987, Schulz violated O'Donnell's prohibition on political endorsements by county administrators, publicly supporting reformist candidate John O. Norquist for

Mayor of Milwaukee This is a list of mayors of Milwaukee, Wisconsin. List External linksJS Online {{Mayors of the City of Milwaukee Milwaukee Milwaukee, Wisconsin Mayors In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a municipal governmen ...

. O'Donnell dismissed Schulz, who promptly filed to run for county executive in 1988. Schulz waged a vigorous campaign and defeated O'Donnell in the April 1988 general election. Following his defeat, O'Donnell lived in retirement until his death on September 4, 2004, at age 82.Former Milwaukee County Executive dies
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Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Odonnell, William Politicians from Milwaukee Military personnel from Wisconsin County supervisors in Wisconsin Milwaukee County Executives 1922 births 2004 deaths 20th-century American politicians United States Army personnel of World War II