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Bill Shearer

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Bill Shearer
2006
Born(1931-01-21)January 21, 1931
Marysville, California, U.S.
DiedMarch 3, 2007(2007-03-03) (aged 76)
San Diego, California, U.S.
Alma materSan Diego State College
Known forFounder of the American Independent Party

William Kennedy Shearer (January 21, 1931 – March 3, 2007) was an American attorney and political activist who founded the American Independent Party. Shearer went on to lead the party for most of his life. He was active in minor party ballot access issues in California.

Early life and education

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William K. Shearer was born in Marysville, California on January 21, 1931, and graduated from Grossmont High School and San Diego State College.[1][2]

Career

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Shearer served in the U.S. Army during the Korean War and worked on the staff of United States Representative James B. Utt and, later, for Assemblyman E. Richard Barnes.[2] In 1957, Shearer was hired as executive director of the Central Committee of the Republican Party of San Diego County, California.[3]

Running as a Republican, Shearer unsuccessfully stood for election to the California Assembly from California's 77th State Assembly district in 1952, 1956 and 1958, before founding and publishing the monthly conservative newspaper The California Statesman.[2] He later became an organizer of the Citizens' Councils in California.[4]

Between his political activism, Shearer worked as an attorney, growing a successful, 70-person law firm in San Diego.[5][6]

American Independent Party

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In 1967, Shearer was hired by the George Wallace 1968 presidential campaign to help establish the American Independent Party (AIP) as a vehicle for Wallace's political ambitions.[7] Shearer went on to co-found the AIP that year in California with his wife, Eileen Knowland Shearer, with the party rapidly consolidating minor parties in other states under the umbrella of a National Committee of Autonomous State Parties to provide Wallace with cross-country ballot lines.[8][9][a] The decision by Wallace to start organizing his campaign in California has never been entirely explained.[10][b] Because the Wallace campaign had no West Coast contacts, Wallace aide Seymore Trammell called Bill Simmons – a leader of the Citizens' Council of Jackson, Mississippi – for a recommendation for someone in California.[10] Simmons advised the campaign to retain Shearer.[10] Wallace went on to win 46 votes in the United States Electoral College; as of 2023, he was the last minor party candidate to win electoral votes in a U.S. presidential election.[12][c]

After the 1968 election, Shearer continued to lead the American Independent Party and was its candidate for Governor of California in 1970.[14] A long-simmering dispute between Wallace and Shearer led to a 1973 split in the party, with it bifurcating into the American Independent Party and the American Party, Shearer continuing to lead the former.[15] In 1976, the New York Times characterized the AIP as "a party that is practically his [Shearer's] own".[16]

Shearer subsequently led the AIP into becoming the California state affiliate of the Populist Party, from which it later withdrew, and then the Constitution Party.[17]

Political views

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In 1951, as a university student, Shearer was the subject of a profile in the San Diego newsweekly Point Magazine which described his support for readoption of the gold standard and his opposition to United States foreign policy as having "all the earmarks of a zealot".[18] Addressing the matter of segregation, in 1967 Shearer stated that he was "not an avowed segregationist, but I do favor a pattern of life which has some degree of segregation".[19] In 1970, Shearer called for the fairness doctrine to be extended to newspapers and for limits to be placed on political campaign spending.[14] During his life, Shearer advocated for ballot access for minor parties and candidates from a variety of political orientations.[17] In 1973, for instance, he submitted an affidavit in support of the Socialist Workers Party in Socialist Workers Party v Eu.[17]

Shearer kept framed photos of the Mexican revolutionary Emiliano Zapata in both his office and his home.[5] According to Eileen Shearer, Zapata was one of Bill Shearer's heroes.[5]

Personal life

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Shearer had a daughter who served as the AIP's chair from 2004 to 2006, and several stepchildren.[17] He died on March 3, 2007, in San Diego at the age of 76.[17][1]

Notes

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  1. ^ Eileen Knowland Shearer was a cousin of United States Senator William F. Knowland.[9]
  2. ^ According to Shearer, the decision to move for party recognition first in California before any other state was because California presented "greater mechanical difficulties" for the organization of new political parties than other jurisdictions.[11]
  3. ^ The AIP ultimately established itself as the largest third party in California with the Los Angeles Times reporting, in 2016, that it was "bigger than all of California's other minor parties combined", while also noting that the AIP's large affiliation numbers were probably because many people accidentally registered their affiliation with the AIP thinking they were registering as "independent".[13]

References

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  1. ^ a b "William K. Shearer". JoinCalifornia: Election History for the State of California. Retrieved April 21, 2024.
  2. ^ a b c "Shearer is Expected to Say He'll Run Again". Times-Advocate. January 20, 1958. Retrieved March 15, 2024.
  3. ^ "Bill Shearer is Executive Director of GOP Committee". Chula Vista Star-News. May 9, 1957. Retrieved March 15, 2024.
  4. ^ Shelton, Isabelle (May 14, 1967). "Everything But Pulling Hair". Baltimore Sun. Retrieved March 15, 2024.
  5. ^ a b c "Independent Party Flings Shearer Back Into Politics". Times-Advocate. September 14, 1980. Retrieved March 15, 2024.
  6. ^ Wagner, Michael (August 27, 1990). "Party's Torch Once Burned Bright". Sacramento Bee. Retrieved March 15, 2024.
  7. ^ Keplinger, John (June 23, 1967). "Gov. George Wallace Campaign Being Organized in California". Palo Alto Times. Retrieved March 15, 2024.
  8. ^ Diamond, Sara (1995). Roads to Dominion: Right-wing Movements and Political Power in the United States. Guilford Press. p. 145. ISBN 0898628644.
  9. ^ a b "American Independent Party of California". loc.gov. Library of Congress. Retrieved March 15, 2024.
  10. ^ a b c Carter, Dan T. (2000). The Politics of Rage: George Wallace, the Origins of the New Conservatism, and the Transformation of American Politics. LSU Press. p. 307. ISBN 0807125970.
  11. ^ "Wallace Bid May Hit Sooner Snag". Tulsa World. Associated Press. May 14, 1967. Retrieved March 15, 2024.
  12. ^ Wolf, Zachary (July 17, 2023). "The curse of third-party presidential candidates". CNN. Retrieved March 15, 2024.
  13. ^ Myers, John (April 17, 2016). "Are you an independent voter? You aren't if you checked this box". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved March 15, 2024.
  14. ^ a b "Shearer Believes News Regulation Necessary". Oroville Mercury-Register. UPI. December 7, 1970. Retrieved March 17, 2024.
  15. ^ "A Disorganized American Party Is Locked in Factional Dispute". New York Times. Associated Press. April 14, 1973. Retrieved March 17, 2024.
  16. ^ Lydon, Christopher (August 29, 1976). "American Party Completes Ticket". New York Times. Retrieved March 17, 2024.
  17. ^ a b c d e Winger, Richard (March 5, 2007). "William Shearer Dies". Ballot Access News. Retrieved March 15, 2004.
  18. ^ "Looking at and Over a Candidate". Times-Advocate. October 19, 1951. Retrieved March 15, 2024.
  19. ^ "Wallace Forming 3rd Party". Hawaii Tribune-Herald. Associated Press. June 21, 1967. Retrieved March 17, 2024.
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