William O'Neill (Ohio judge)

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William M. O'Neill
File:William O'Neill (Ohio jurist) 2006-10-03.jpg
Associate Justice of the Ohio Supreme Court
Assumed office
January 2, 2013
Preceded by Robert Cupp
Ohio Eleventh District Court of Appeals Judge
In office
February 9, 1997 – June 30, 2007
Preceded by Joseph E. Mahoney
Succeeded by Timothy P. Cannon
Personal details
Born (1947-05-06) May 6, 1947 (age 76)
Cleveland, Ohio, U.S.
Political party Democratic
Alma mater <templatestyles src="Plainlist/styles.css"/>

William Michael O'Neill (born May 6, 1947) is an American lawyer, judge and political figure. He was elected to the Ohio Supreme Court in 2012, for a term beginning January 2013. He served as an appellate judge on the Ohio Eleventh District Court of Appeals for 10 years. Twice, O'Neill was the Democratic nominee for U.S. Representative in Ohio's 14th congressional district. He announced on October 29, 2017 as a candidate for Ohio Governor in the 2018 election.

Education and military service

O'Neill graduated from Cleveland Heights High School in 1965 and Ohio University in 1969, at which point he joined the U.S. Army. He earned the Bronze Star in Vietnam and retired from the military in 2001 as a lieutenant colonel in the Ohio National Guard. With the help of the G.I. Bill, O'Neill graduated from Cleveland–Marshall College of Law in 1980.[1] He also graduated from Huron School of Nursing as a registered nurse.[2][3]

Political campaigns

1996 Ohio Court of Appeals campaign

In 1996, O'Neill won a seat on the Ohio Eleventh District Court of Appeals with about 50% of the vote.[4][5] He served from 1997 to 2007, when he resigned to run for Congress.[1]

2004 Ohio Supreme Court Campaign

In a 2004 special election to finish the term of an Ohio Supreme Court justice who resigned, O'Neill lost to Terrence O'Donnell by 21%.[6]

Candidate Party Notes Votes Percentage
Terrence O'Donnell Republican Incumbent 2,560,609 60.50%
William O'Neill Democratic 1,860,801 39.50%

2006 Ohio Supreme Court Campaign

In 2006, O'Neill ran against O'Donnell again for a full-term on the Ohio Supreme Court. O'Neill lost again, by over 17%.[7]

Candidate Party Notes Votes Percentage
Terrence O'Donnell Republican Incumbent 1,903,702 58.67%
William O'Neill Democratic 1,341,258 41.33%

2008 Congressional campaign

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O'Neill lost in his 2008 bid for Ohio's 14th congressional district seat to incumbent Steve LaTourette by nearly 20%.[8]

Candidate Party Notes Votes Percentage
Steve LaTourette Republican Incumbent 188,488 58.32%
William O'Neill Democratic 125,214 38.74%
David Macko Libertarian 9,511 2.94%[9]

2010 Congressional campaign

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On February 6, 2010, O'Neill announced that he would be running again as the Democratic nominee for Ohio's 14th congressional district against LaTourette. O'Neill stated during his campaign his desire to expand the Greater Cleveland Rapid Transit rail system.[10][11][12] O'Neill lost the election by over 33%.[13]

Candidate Party Notes Votes Percentage
Steve LaTourette Republican Incumbent 149,878 64.92%
William O'Neill Democratic 72,604 31.45%
John Jelenic Libertarian 8,383 3.63%

2012 Ohio Supreme Court Campaign

In 2012, for the third time, O'Neill ran for the Ohio Supreme Court. He won a two-way primary against Fanon Rucker, a judge on the Hamilton County Municipal Court. O'Neill received 72% of the vote and carried all but one of Ohio's 88 counties. In the general election, O'Neill defeated incumbent Robert Cupp by four percent.[14] O'Neill ran on a budget of just $4000 from his personal funds, a campaign he called "no money from nobody" and that was highlighted in a You Tube video with his twin sons.

Candidate Party Notes Votes Percentage
William O'Neill Democratic 2,040,043 52%
Robert Cupp Republican Incumbent 1,860,801 48%

2018 Ohio Gubernatorial Campaign

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On October 29, 2017, O'Neill announced that he would join the Democratic primary for Ohio governor. During his announcement, he laid out a platform of minimum wage increases, tax incentives for solar power, mental health care expansion and marijuana legalization in Ohio.[15] Less than a week later he announced that he will recuse himself from new Supreme Court cases and will resign by the February 7, filing deadline due to potential ethical conflicts.[16]

On November 17, 2017, O'Neill stirred controversy by posting a Facebook post responding to recent controversy regarding allegations of sexual assault against U.S. Senator Al Franken. He referred to those speaking against Franken as "dogs of war" and decried a "national feeding frenzy" against age-old sexual indiscretions, and he stated that speaking on behalf of all heterosexual males that he been sexually intimate with 50 attractive females in the past fifty years. In response, his communications director resigned from his campaign.[17] Multiple state officials, including Ohio Chief Justice Maureen O'Connor,[18] former state representative and fellow gubernatorial candidate Connie Pillich,[19] Dayton mayor and fellow gubernatorial candidate Nan Whaley,[17] and Lieutenant Governor Mary Taylor,[20] criticized O'Neill's comments, with Pillich and Whaley calling for him to resign from his position as associate justice. O'Neill refused to apologize, and told his critics to "lighten up."[21]

Personal life

O'Neill worked as a civil rights lawyer, small business owner, and union organizer. He is a registered nurse in the pediatric emergency department at Hillcrest Hospital in Mayfield Heights, Ohio. [1][2][3]


References

  1. 1.0 1.1 1.2 Meet Bill | O Neill '08 for Congress
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  5. The Plain Dealer, November 6, 1996 - APPEALS COURT JOB GOES TO O'NEILL
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  9. FEDERAL ELECTIONS 2008. Federal Elections Commission. Washington, DC. July 2009
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External links

Legal offices
Preceded by Associate Justice of the Ohio Supreme Court
2013–present
Incumbent