William Dougherty
Encyclopedia
William "Bill" Dougherty (April 6, 1932 – July 3, 2010) was an American businessman, lobbyist, and Democratic
politician who was the Lieutenant Governor of South Dakota
from 1971 to 1975.
, working as a stockman, buying and selling cattle. In the late 1950s, he befriended the Kennedy family
, enabling his rise in politics. In 1960, he worked on Massachusetts
Senator
John F. Kennedy
's presidential campaign, meeting Kennedy's brother, future Senator Ted Kennedy
, during that campaign. Although John F. Kennedy won the presidency
that year, the Republican
nominee, Richard Nixon
, won South Dakota's four electoral votes. In 1968, Dougherty managed New York
Senator Robert F. Kennedy
's South Dakota campaign for the Democratic nomination for the presidency; with Dougherty at the helm, Kennedy won the South Dakota primary on the same day he won the California
primary. However, Kennedy was assassinated in Los Angeles, California
that night; Dougherty had spoken to him on the telephone twice shortly before the assassination. One of those calls, in which Kennedy congratulated his South Dakotan supporters over a speaker phone, was taped by Dougherty and eventually preserved on a compact disc
. Also in 1968, Dougherty managed freshman Democratic Senator George McGovern
's successful re-election campaign.
Four years later, Dougherty held a major post in McGovern's unsuccessful campaign for the presidency. After receiving the Democratic nomination, McGovern replaced his running mate, Missouri
Senator Thomas Eagleton
, with former Ambassador to France
Sargent Shriver
of Maryland
, after being urged to do so by Dougherty, among others.
In a 1973 book, Neil R. Peirce described his 1969 interview of Dougherty:
Dougherty also served as a member of the Democratic National Committee
; when he first joined the Committee, he was, at the age of 36, its youngest member.
Richard F. Kneip
. Kneip and Dougherty were re-elected in 1972. Although Kneip successfully ran for re-election in 1974, Dougherty retired from public office and was succeeded by Harvey L. Wollman
in 1975.
, the state capital. He became one of the state's best-known lobbyists; veteran state legislator Bernie Hunhoff has described Dougherty's lobbying career as "colorful." Dougherty spent a good deal of his career representing liquor and tobacco interests.
More recently, Dougherty represented the South Dakota Petroleum Marketers on a task force on open government put together by South Dakota Attorney General
Larry Long
. The task force reviewed statutory limits on public access to state and local government records. He retired from his lobbying career in 2009. He was inducted into the South Dakota Hall of Fame in September 2009.
He died in Sioux Falls after a long battle with cancer
.
Democratic Party (United States)
The Democratic Party is one of two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Republican Party. The party's socially liberal and progressive platform is largely considered center-left in the U.S. political spectrum. The party has the lengthiest record of continuous...
politician who was the Lieutenant Governor of South Dakota
Lieutenant Governor of South Dakota
The Lieutenant Governor of South Dakota is the lieutenant governor of the U.S. state of South Dakota.He or she is the second-ranking member of the executive branch of South Dakota state government and also serves as presiding officer of the South Dakota Senate...
from 1971 to 1975.
Early career
Before entering politics, Dougherty spent many years in Sioux Falls, South DakotaSioux Falls, South Dakota
Sioux Falls is the largest city in the U.S. state of South Dakota. Sioux Falls is the county seat of Minnehaha County, and also extends into Lincoln County to the south...
, working as a stockman, buying and selling cattle. In the late 1950s, he befriended the Kennedy family
Kennedy family
In the United States, the phrase Kennedy family commonly refers to the family descending from the marriage of the Irish-Americans Joseph P. Kennedy, Sr. and Rose Elizabeth Fitzgerald that was prominent in American politics and government. Their political involvement has revolved around the...
, enabling his rise in politics. In 1960, he worked on Massachusetts
Massachusetts
The Commonwealth of Massachusetts is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. It is bordered by Rhode Island and Connecticut to the south, New York to the west, and Vermont and New Hampshire to the north; at its east lies the Atlantic Ocean. As of the 2010...
Senator
United States Senate
The United States Senate is the upper house of the bicameral legislature of the United States, and together with the United States House of Representatives comprises the United States Congress. The composition and powers of the Senate are established in Article One of the U.S. Constitution. Each...
John F. Kennedy
John F. Kennedy
John Fitzgerald "Jack" Kennedy , often referred to by his initials JFK, was the 35th President of the United States, serving from 1961 until his assassination in 1963....
's presidential campaign, meeting Kennedy's brother, future Senator Ted Kennedy
Ted Kennedy
Edward Moore "Ted" Kennedy was a United States Senator from Massachusetts and a member of the Democratic Party. Serving almost 47 years, he was the second most senior member of the Senate when he died and is the fourth-longest-serving senator in United States history...
, during that campaign. Although John F. Kennedy won the presidency
President of the United States
The President of the United States of America is the head of state and head of government of the United States. The president leads the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United States Armed Forces....
that year, the Republican
Republican Party (United States)
The Republican Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Democratic Party. Founded by anti-slavery expansion activists in 1854, it is often called the GOP . The party's platform generally reflects American conservatism in the U.S...
nominee, Richard Nixon
Richard Nixon
Richard Milhous Nixon was the 37th President of the United States, serving from 1969 to 1974. The only president to resign the office, Nixon had previously served as a US representative and senator from California and as the 36th Vice President of the United States from 1953 to 1961 under...
, won South Dakota's four electoral votes. In 1968, Dougherty managed New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
Senator Robert F. Kennedy
Robert F. Kennedy
Robert Francis "Bobby" Kennedy , also referred to by his initials RFK, was an American politician, a Democratic senator from New York, and a noted civil rights activist. An icon of modern American liberalism and member of the Kennedy family, he was a younger brother of President John F...
's South Dakota campaign for the Democratic nomination for the presidency; with Dougherty at the helm, Kennedy won the South Dakota primary on the same day he won the California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
primary. However, Kennedy was assassinated in Los Angeles, California
Los Angeles, California
Los Angeles , with a population at the 2010 United States Census of 3,792,621, is the most populous city in California, USA and the second most populous in the United States, after New York City. It has an area of , and is located in Southern California...
that night; Dougherty had spoken to him on the telephone twice shortly before the assassination. One of those calls, in which Kennedy congratulated his South Dakotan supporters over a speaker phone, was taped by Dougherty and eventually preserved on a compact disc
Compact Disc
The Compact Disc is an optical disc used to store digital data. It was originally developed to store and playback sound recordings exclusively, but later expanded to encompass data storage , write-once audio and data storage , rewritable media , Video Compact Discs , Super Video Compact Discs ,...
. Also in 1968, Dougherty managed freshman Democratic Senator George McGovern
George McGovern
George Stanley McGovern is an historian, author, and former U.S. Representative, U.S. Senator, and the Democratic Party nominee in the 1972 presidential election....
's successful re-election campaign.
Four years later, Dougherty held a major post in McGovern's unsuccessful campaign for the presidency. After receiving the Democratic nomination, McGovern replaced his running mate, Missouri
Missouri
Missouri is a US state located in the Midwestern United States, bordered by Iowa, Illinois, Kentucky, Tennessee, Arkansas, Oklahoma, Kansas and Nebraska. With a 2010 population of 5,988,927, Missouri is the 18th most populous state in the nation and the fifth most populous in the Midwest. It...
Senator Thomas Eagleton
Thomas Eagleton
Thomas Francis Eagleton was a United States Senator from Missouri, serving from 1968–1987. He is best remembered for briefly being the Democratic vice presidential nominee under George McGovern in 1972...
, with former Ambassador to France
United States Ambassador to France
This article is about the United States Ambassador to France. There has been a United States Ambassador to France since the American Revolution. The United States sent its first envoys to France in 1776, towards the end of the four-centuries-old Bourbon dynasty...
Sargent Shriver
Sargent Shriver
Robert Sargent Shriver, Jr., known as Sargent Shriver, R. Sargent Shriver, or, from childhood, Sarge, was an American statesman and activist. As the husband of Eunice Kennedy Shriver, he was part of the Kennedy family, serving in the Kennedy and Johnson administrations...
of Maryland
Maryland
Maryland is a U.S. state located in the Mid Atlantic region of the United States, bordering Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware to its east...
, after being urged to do so by Dougherty, among others.
In a 1973 book, Neil R. Peirce described his 1969 interview of Dougherty:
...With his lean figure, Western blue jeans, cowboy hat, and boots, he looks as if he would be more at home in a Marlboro cigarette ad than working closely with the sophisticated Kennedy clan of the old East. ... When I first interviewed Dougherty in 1969, I was amazed by his confidence that the South Dakota Democratic party of the 1970s could become consistently competitive with the GOP, building a coalition of farmers, college people, intellectual suburbanites, and labor and cutting down the Republican edge in the cities. The breakdown of South Dakota's insularity through television and travel was leading in that direction, Dougherty argued; he said his own attitudes on race were greatly altered by travel with Bobby Kennedy to the ghettos of the great cities and subsequently by the nine-hour ride on Bobby's funeral train from New York to Washington, watching impoverished blacks and others who lined the train platforms in 100-degree to honor their fallen hero.
Dougherty also served as a member of the Democratic National Committee
Democratic National Committee
The Democratic National Committee is the principal organization governing the United States Democratic Party on a day to day basis. While it is responsible for overseeing the process of writing a platform every four years, the DNC's central focus is on campaign and political activity in support...
; when he first joined the Committee, he was, at the age of 36, its youngest member.
Lieutenant governor
Dougherty was elected Lieutenant Governor of South Dakota in 1970, running on a ticket with State SenatorSouth Dakota Senate
The Senate is the upper house of the South Dakota State Legislature. It is made up of 35 members, one representing each legislative district, and meets at the South Dakota State Capitol in Pierre.-Composition:-Officers:-Members of the 86th Senate:...
Richard F. Kneip
Richard F. Kneip
Richard Francis "Dick" Kneip was the 25th Governor of the U.S. state of South Dakota from 1971 until 1978...
. Kneip and Dougherty were re-elected in 1972. Although Kneip successfully ran for re-election in 1974, Dougherty retired from public office and was succeeded by Harvey L. Wollman
Harvey L. Wollman
Harvey Lowell Wollman was the 26th Governor of South Dakota. He was the first Lieutenant Governor in the history of South Dakota to move into the Governor's office. As of 2009, he is also the most recent Democrat to hold the title of South Dakota governor.Wollman was born in 1935 in Frankfort,...
in 1975.
Lobbyist
After leaving public office, Dougherty launched a lengthy lobbying career in PierrePierre, South Dakota
Pierre is the capital of the U.S. state of South Dakota and the county seat of Hughes County. The population was 13,646 at the 2010 census, making it the second least populous state capital after Montpelier, Vermont...
, the state capital. He became one of the state's best-known lobbyists; veteran state legislator Bernie Hunhoff has described Dougherty's lobbying career as "colorful." Dougherty spent a good deal of his career representing liquor and tobacco interests.
More recently, Dougherty represented the South Dakota Petroleum Marketers on a task force on open government put together by South Dakota Attorney General
South Dakota Attorney General
The Attorney General of South Dakota is an elected office that assists local law enforcement agencies in the state of South Dakota, provides legal representation for state agencies, and enforces consumer protection laws. The current attorney general is Marty Jackley.-External links:*...
Larry Long
Larry Long
Larry Long is a judge and the former Attorney General of the state of South Dakota, United States. He was first elected in 2002 and left office in 2009 to accept an appointment by Gov...
. The task force reviewed statutory limits on public access to state and local government records. He retired from his lobbying career in 2009. He was inducted into the South Dakota Hall of Fame in September 2009.
He died in Sioux Falls after a long battle with cancer
Cancer
Cancer , known medically as a malignant neoplasm, is a large group of different diseases, all involving unregulated cell growth. In cancer, cells divide and grow uncontrollably, forming malignant tumors, and invade nearby parts of the body. The cancer may also spread to more distant parts of the...
.