William B. Fitzgerald (June 12, 1942 - February 3, 2008) was an American attorney and Democratic politician who served in both houses of the

Michigan Legislature The Michigan Legislature is the legislature of the U.S. state of Michigan. It is organized as a bicameral body composed of the Senate (the upper chamber) and the House of Representatives (the lower chamber). Article IV of the Michigan Con ...

and was Majority Leader of the Michigan Senate. He was later the Democratic nominee for governor in 1978 but lost to incumbent governor

William Milliken William Grawn Milliken (March 26, 1922 – October 18, 2019) was an American businessman and politician who served as the 44th governor of Michigan from 1969 to 1983. A member of the Republican Party, he assumed the governorship following the r ...

Early life

Born in

Detroit Detroit ( , ) is the List of municipalities in Michigan, most populous city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is situated on the bank of the Detroit River across from Windsor, Ontario. It had a population of 639,111 at the 2020 United State ...

in 1942, Fitzgerald graduated from Austin Catholic Prep School and earned his bachelor's degree at

Western Michigan University Western Michigan University (Western Michigan, Western or WMU) is a Public university, public research university in Kalamazoo, Michigan, United States. It was initially established as Western State Normal School in 1903 by Governor Aaron T. B ...

where he played college basketball. He earned his J.D. at the

Detroit College of Law The Michigan State University College of Law (Michigan State Law or MSU Law) is the law school of Michigan State University, a public research university in East Lansing, Michigan. Established in 1891 as the Detroit College of Law, it was the f ...

and was a member of

Sigma Alpha Epsilon Sigma Alpha Epsilon () is a North American Greek-letter social college fraternity. It was founded at the University of Alabama in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, on March 9, 1856.Baird, William Raimond, ed. (1905).Baird's Manual of American College Fratern ...

. While at law school, he taught and coached basketball at St. Martin High School in Detroit, and after graduating, Fitzgerald practiced law in Detroit.

Political career

Fitzgerald was elected to the

Michigan House of Representatives The Michigan House of Representatives is the lower house of the Michigan Legislature. There are 110 members, each of whom is elected from constituencies having approximately 77,000 to 91,000 residents, based on population figures from the 2020 ...

in 1970, succeeding his father, William B. Fitzgerald, who had suffered a heart attack and died in office that year. Four years later, he was elected to the

Michigan Senate The Michigan Senate is the upper house of the Michigan Legislature. Along with the Michigan House of Representatives, it composes the state legislature, which has powers, roles and duties defined by Article IV of the Michigan Constitution, ado ...

and was elected by his caucus to be majority leader before he had been formally sworn as a senator. He was, and remains, the youngest majority leader in state history. While majority leader, in the wake of the

Watergate scandal The Watergate scandal was a major political scandal in the United States involving the Presidency of Richard Nixon, administration of President Richard Nixon. The scandal began in 1972 and ultimately led to Resignation of Richard Nixon, Nix ...

, Fitzgerald advanced legislation creating new standards of disclosure of outside income by public officials, the state's first code of ethics in statute, and public disclosure of campaign expenses. Additionally, he helped create the state's first " rainy day fund." In mid-1975, committees were formed to choose Fitzgerald as the Democratic nominee for

Governor of Michigan The governor of Michigan is the head of government of the U.S. state of Michigan. The current governor is Gretchen Whitmer, a member of the Democratic Party, who was inaugurated on January 1, 2019, as the state's 49th governor. She was re-ele ...

1978 Events January * January 1 – Air India Flight 855, a Boeing 747 passenger jet, crashes off the coast of Bombay, killing 213. * January 5 – Bülent Ecevit, of Republican People's Party, CHP, forms the new government of Turkey (42nd ...

, challenging

. He campaigned on economic development, political reform, and environmental standards, but lost to the incumbent by 13 points. He ran unsuccessfully for the Democratic gubernatorial nomination in

1982 Events January * January 1 – In Malaysia and Singapore, clocks are adjusted to the same time zone, UTC+8 (GMT+8.00). * January 13 – Air Florida Flight 90 crashes shortly after takeoff into the 14th Street Bridge in Washington, D.C. ...

, but lost to eventual Governor

James Blanchard James Johnston Blanchard (born August 8, 1942) is an American attorney, diplomat, and politician who served as the 45th governor of Michigan from 1983 to 1991. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, Blanchard previo ...

Later life

After his second bid for governor, Fitzgerald focused on his practice of law. He married Margaret O'Neill in 1986, and was named a distinguished alumnus by

. Fitzgerald died in February 2008 from colon cancer, aged 65.Gongwer News Service (February 4, 2008)
Bill Fitzgerald, Senate Leader In Post-Watergate Era, Gov. Candidate, Dies
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References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Fitzgerald, William B. Jr. Democratic Party Michigan state senators Democratic Party members of the Michigan House of Representatives Catholics from Michigan 1942 births 2008 deaths Detroit College of Law alumni Western Michigan University alumni Politicians from Detroit Lawyers from Detroit 20th-century American lawyers 20th-century members of the Michigan Legislature