Bill Dodd

Who was Bill Dodd?

William Joseph "Bill" Dodd held five important positions in Louisiana government in the mid-twentieth century, including the offices of state representative, lieutenant governor, state auditor, president and member of the State Board of Education, and state education superintendent, but he never achieved his ultimate goal: the state's powerful Napoleonic-style governorship. Twice Dodd failed to win the pivotal Democratic gubernatorial nomination: 1952 and 1959. To his critics, he was a Long "hatchet man." To his admirers, he never let his defeats sour his optimistic spirit, his patriotism, or his devotion to his adopted home state.