William F. Bleakley (November 11, 1883 – October 2, 1969) was an American attorney, politician, and judge from

Yonkers, New York Yonkers () is a city in Westchester County, New York, United States. Developed along the Hudson River, it is the third most populous city in the state of New York, after New York City and Buffalo. The population of Yonkers was 211,569 as enu ...

. He is best known for being the first

Westchester County Executive The Westchester County Executive is the head of the executive branch of the Westchester County, New York, government. The current county executive is George Latimer. The county executive has power to veto acts of Westchester County Board of Legis ...

, and for being the unsuccessful

Republican Republican can refer to: Political ideology * An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law. ** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...

nominee for governor in 1936. Born in

Verplanck, New York Verplanck is a hamlet and census-designated place (CDP) in the town of Cortlandt, Westchester County, New York, United States. As of the 2010 census it had a population of 1,729. Both the hamlet and Verplanck's Point derive their name from the a ...

, Bleakley graduated from

Cornell Law School Cornell Law School is the law school of Cornell University, a private Ivy League university in Ithaca, New York. One of the five Ivy League law schools, it offers four law degree programs, JD, LLM, MSLS and JSD, along with several dual-deg ...

and became an attorney in Yonkers. He served terms as a judge of the Yonkers city court and Westchester County court. From 1928 to 1936, he was a justice of the

New York Supreme Court The Supreme Court of the State of New York is the trial-level court of general jurisdiction in the New York State Unified Court System. (Its Appellate Division is also the highest intermediate appellate court.) It is vested with unlimited civ ...

. Bleakley was the unsuccessful Republican nominee for

Governor of New York The governor of New York is the head of government of the U.S. state of New York. The governor is the head of the executive branch of New York's state government and the commander-in-chief of the state's military forces. The governor has ...

1936 Events January–February * January 20 – George V of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions and Emperor of India, dies at his Sandringham Estate. The Prince of Wales succeeds to the throne of the United Kingdom as King E ...

. When Westchester County adopted an executive/legislature form of government in 1938, Bleakley was the successful Republican nominee to serve as the first county executive, and he held the post from 1939 to 1941. Bleakley died in Yonkers on October 2, 1969, and was buried at

Gate of Heaven Cemetery Gate of Heaven Cemetery, approximately 25 miles (40 km) north of New York City, was established in 1917 at 10 West Stevens Ave. in Hawthorne, Westchester County, New York, as a Roman Catholic burial site. Among its famous residents is b ...

Hawthorne, New York Hawthorne is a hamlet and census-designated place (CDP) located in the town of Mount Pleasant in Westchester County, New York, United States. The population was 4,586 at the 2010 census. History The village was originally known as Hammond's Mill ...

Early life

Bleakley was born in

, on November 11, 1883. He graduated from

Peekskill Peekskill is a city in northwestern Westchester County, New York, United States, from New York City. Established as a village in 1816, it was incorporated as a city in 1940. It lies on a bay along the east side of the Hudson River, across fr ...

Drum Hill High School Drum Hill High School, which was readapted for use as Drum Hill Senior Living Community, is a historic school located at Peekskill, Westchester County, New York, United States. It was built between 1909 and 1911 and is a three-story, "E"-shaped, gr ...

in 1899, and in 1904 he received his

LL.B. 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 Chi ...

degree from

. Bleakley was admitted to the bar in 1905, and practiced in

Yonkers Yonkers () is a city in Westchester County, New York, United States. Developed along the Hudson River, it is the third most populous city in the state of New York, after New York City and Buffalo. The population of Yonkers was 211,569 as enu ...

. From 1914 to 1917 he served on the school board in Yonkers.

Career

Judicial

He was judge of the Yonkers city court from 1918 to 1921. In 1921 he was appointed to fill a vacancy on the Westchester County Court, where he served until winning election to the New York Supreme Court in 1928. He served on the state supreme court until 1936, when he resigned after having won the Republican nomination for governor.

1936 gubernatorial election

In the 1936 general election, Bleakley was defeated by incumbent

Herbert H. Lehman Herbert Henry Lehman (March 28, 1878 – December 5, 1963) was an American Democratic Party politician from New York. He served from 1933 until 1942 as the 45th governor of New York and represented New York State in the U.S. Senate from 194 ...

, 2,708,403 votes to 2,450,104. Afterwards, Bleakley resumed practicing law in Yonkers, and was a delegate to the state constitutional convention of 1937-38. He remained active in Republican politics, and was a delegate to the party's national conventions of 1940, 1944, and 1948, and an alternate delegate in 1952.

County executive

In 1938 Westchester County implemented a county executive/county legislature form of government. Bleakley was the successful Republican nominee for county executive, and served from 1939 to 1941.

Later career

Bleakley served as chairman of the state Commission for Investigation of Workmen's Compensation Law Administration from 1942 to 1944, appointed by Governor

Thomas E. Dewey Thomas Edmund Dewey (March 24, 1902 – March 16, 1971) was an American lawyer, prosecutor, and politician who served as the 47th governor of New York from 1943 to 1954. He was the Republican candidate for president in 1944 and 1948: although ...

. In its final report the commission recommended several legislative and regulatory reforms designed to ensure that workers' compensation was administered efficiently and effectively. In addition, he served in the 1940s as counsel for the state's Joint Legislative Committee on Reapportionment.

Personal life

Association with horse racing

Bleakley was involved in horse racing as: attorney for the Empire State Racing Association; attorney for the New York Racing Association; chairman of the board of Algam, the company which owned and operated Yonkers Raceway; and counsel and board of directors member for the Yonkers Trotting Association.

Civic and charitable activism

Bleakley was involved in civic and charitable causes, including: in 1946 Bleakley was chairman of the Yonkers Tercentennial Commission, which organized the 300th anniversary of the city's founding; member of the board of trustees of the Catholic Charities of the New York Archdiocese; president of the Cornell Law School Alumni Association; chairman of the Westchester Committee for the United Defense Fund (a post-

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 ...

effort to aid returning veterans); and vice president of the

New York State Bar Association The New York State Bar Association (NYSBA) is a voluntary bar association for the state of New York. The mission of the association is to cultivate the science of jurisprudence; promote reform in the law; facilitate the administration of justice ...

Death and burial

Bleakley died in Yonkers on October 2, 1969. He was interred at

References

External links

Biography, William Francis Bleakley
at ''Westchester County Archives'' *,
p. 4
, - {{DEFAULTSORT:Bleakley, William F. 1883 births 1969 deaths Burials at Gate of Heaven Cemetery (Hawthorne, New York) Cornell Law School alumni New York (state) lawyers New York (state) Republicans New York (state) state court judges New York Supreme Court Justices Westchester County, New York Executives 20th-century American judges 20th-century American lawyers