Ford, William D. (William David), 1927-

William D. Ford represented Michigan's Fifteenth Congressional District for thirty years, from 1964 to 1994. Born August 6, 1927 in Detroit, Ford served in the Navy from 1944 to 1946, then attended Nebraska State Teachers College (1946), Wayne State University (1947-1948), and the University of Denver, from which he received a Bachelor of Science degree in 1949, and a Juris Doctor degree in 1951.

Ford held political positions at the local level in Wayne County before being elected to the Michigan State Senate in 1962. When the Fifteenth District was created in 1964, he had the support of state Democratic leaders to take the seat. He was reelected until his retirement in 1994.

In Congress, Ford sat on the Education and Labor Committee for his entire congressional career, and became its chairman in 1991. The committee brought together Ford's two main interests, and he concentrated on building a reputation for handling education and labor legislation. He is perhaps best known for his work on college aid programs which targeted middle class voters, and he was also a proponent of vocational education.

On labor issues, Ford worked for fourteen years to pass a plant-closure notification bill, which became law in 1987 after intense negotiation and compromise by Ford. Ford also served as chairman of the Post Office and Civil Service Committee, and regularly voted in favor of pay increases for federal employees and legislators. In 1994, Ford chose not to run for office again, and retired from Congress to work for a Washington law firm.

From the description of William D. Ford papers, 1955-1995 (bulk 1965-1994). (University of Michigan). WorldCat record id: 34422719

William D. Ford represented Michigan's Fifteenth Congressional District for thirty years, from 1964 to 1994. A Democrat, Ford was elected in the largely blue-collar district at the beginning of Lyndon Johnson's Great Society, and this determined the course of his congressional career. A strong proponent of government sponsored social programs and the labor movement, Ford has been described as "a crusty old pol, blunt, aggressive and partisan" [Duncan, p.762].

Ford was born August 6, 1927 in Detroit; his parents were autoworkers who had immigrated from Scotland. His working-class background and Depression era upbringing helped form his political views, and also proved to be a political asset in the Fifteenth District. Ford served in the Navy from 1944 to 1946, and the GI Bill enabled him to attend Nebraska State Teachers College (1946), Wayne State University (1947-1948), and the University of Denver, from which he received a Bachelor of Science degree in 1949, and a Juris Doctor degree in 1951.

Ford held political positions at the local level in Wayne County before being elected to the Michigan State Senate in 1962. When the Fifteenth District was created in 1964, he had the support of state Democratic leaders to take the seat and was elected with minimal opposition. Ford was never seriously challenged for the seat, consistently winning elections by at least 60% of the vote.

The relative ease with which Ford held his seat in Congress allowed him to concentrate his energies in Washington. He sat on the Education and Labor Committee for his entire congressional career, and became its chairman in 1991. The committee brought together Ford's two main interests, and he concentrated on building a reputation for handling education and labor legislation. He is perhaps best known for his work on college aid programs which targeted middle class voters, and he was also a proponent of vocational education. On labor issues, Ford worked for 14 years to pass a plant-closure notification bill, which became law in 1987 after intense negotiation and compromise by Ford.

Ford also served as chairman of the Post Office and Civil Service Committee, and regularly voted in favor of pay increases for federal employees and legislators; the relative security of his seat made the latter politically feasible. However, political pragmatism was a hallmark of Ford's career, and his legislative decisions were usually made with his constituents' reactions in mind. This was particularly true of his response to controversial issues such as court-enforced busing of schoolchildren, which he voted against, and economic protection of U.S. industry, which he strongly favored

Ford's congressional career reflects widespread changes in American political life. Fundraising at the start of his career tended to involve local events and traditional letter campaigns; by the 1980s, Ford depended heavily on financial support from Political Action Committees, and his fundraisers took place in Washington and New York City, as well as the Detroit area. He was also forced to deal with changes in his constituents' political views, as Fifteenth District voters became in many respects prototypical "Reagan Democrats" in the early 1980s. An extreme manifestation of many voters' shift away from Great Society liberalism was the candidacy of Gerald Carlson, a self-described "white rights" advocate who gathered nearly 40% of the vote against Ford in 1984.

In 1994, Ford chose not to run for office again, and retired from Congress to work for a Washington law firm.

From the guide to the William D. Ford Papers, 1955-1995, 1965-1995, (Bentley Historical Library University of Michigan)