William Leslie Dill (March 15, 1874 – January 14, 1952) was an
American
American(s) may refer to:
* American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America"
** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America
** American ancestry, pe ...
jurist
A jurist is a person with expert knowledge of law; someone who analyses and comments on law. This person is usually a specialist legal scholar, mostly (but not always) with a formal qualification in law and often a legal practitioner. In the Uni ...
Democratic
Democrat, Democrats, or Democratic may refer to:
Politics
*A proponent of democracy, or democratic government; a form of government involving rule by the people.
*A member of a Democratic Party:
**Democratic Party (United States) (D)
**Democratic ...
nominee for Governor of New Jersey in 1928 and 1934. He was the only Democrat to lose a New Jersey gubernatorial election between 1916 and 1943 and the only one to lose to someone other than
Walter Evans Edge
Walter Evans Edge (November 20, 1873October 29, 1956) was an American diplomat and Republican Party (United States), Republican politician who served as the 36th governor of New Jersey, from 1917 to 1919 and again from 1944 to 1947, during both ...
between 1907 and 1946.
Biography
Dill was born in 1874 in
Freeburg, Pennsylvania
Freeburg is a borough in Snyder County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 557 at the 2020 census.
Geography
According to the United States Census Bureau, the borough has a total area of , all land.
Freeburg is surrounded by Washi ...
Paterson, New Jersey
Paterson ( ) is the largest City (New Jersey), city in and the county seat of Passaic County, New Jersey, Passaic County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey."William L. Dill, Former Jurist, 77" '' The New York Times'', January 16, 1952. Accessed June 15, 2008.
From 1901 to 1903 he served as secretary to the Mayor of Paterson. He served six years as president of the Paterson Finance Board. In 1913 he was named secretary to the
New Jersey Senate
The New Jersey Senate was established as the upper house of the New Jersey Legislature by the Constitution of 1844, replacing the Legislative Council. There are 40 legislative districts, representing districts with an average population of 232, ...
, and in 1915 was named Assistant Secretary of State. Also in 1915, he was appointed State Motor Vehicle Commissioner.
Dill stepped down from his position as Motor Vehicle Commissioner in 1928 to seek the Democratic nomination for Governor of New Jersey, opposing the Republican candidate
Morgan Foster Larson
Morgan Foster Larson (June 15, 1882March 21, 1961) was an American Republican politician who served as the 40th governor of New Jersey.
Early life
Morgan Foster Larson was born on June 15, 1882 in Perth Amboy, New Jersey to Peter and Regina (K ...
. In his campaign speeches Larson tied Dill to the machine of Democratic party boss Frank Hague. Dill received 671,728 votes to Larson's 824,005.
In 1933 Dill was appointed as a lay member of the New Jersey Court of Errors and Appeals by Governor
A. Harry Moore
Arthur Harry Moore (July 3, 1877 – November 18, 1952) was an American Democratic politician and attorney who was the 39th governor of New Jersey, serving three nonconsecutive three-year terms between 1926 and 1941. As of , Moore remains t ...
. He resigned from that office in 1934 to campaign for Governor of New Jersey a second time. His Republican opponent this time was
Harold G. Hoffman
Harold Giles Hoffman (February 7, 1896 – June 4, 1954) was an American politician of the Republican Party who served as the 41st governor of New Jersey from 1935 to 1938. He also served two terms representing in the United States House of Re ...
, who had succeeded Dill as Motor Vehicle Commissioner. During the campaign Dill was again linked to Hague's bossism. Hoffman was victorious in the general election, marking the first time in 27 years that the Democrats lost the governorship in a non-presidential election year. Biography of Harold G. Hoffman New Jersey State Library.
Dill was reappointed to the Court of Errors and Appeals in 1943 by Governor Charles Edison, remaining on the bench until 1948 when the court was abolished under the new State Constitution. He died in 1950 at his home in Paterson at the age of 77.