William Lucas (January 15, 1928 – May 30, 2022) was an American politician. When he was orphaned in his early teens (his West Indian immigrant parents died within a year of each other), he went to live with and was raised by an aunt. He attended Morris High School in

the Bronx The Bronx () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Bronx County, in the state of New York. It is south of Westchester County; north and east of the New York City borough of Manhattan, across the Harlem River; and north of the New Y ...

, and starred on the school track team. Because of his track skill he was offered a number of collegiate

athletic scholarships An athletic scholarship is a form of scholarship to attend a college or university or a private high school awarded to an individual based predominantly on his or her ability to play in a sport. Athletic scholarships are common in the United Stat ...

, and accepted one from Manhattan College. He was the first in his family to go to college, and graduated with honors in 1952 with a

Bachelor of science degree A Bachelor of Science (BS, BSc, SB, or ScB; from the Latin ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for programs that generally last three to five years. The first university to admit a student to the degree of Bachelor of Science was the University of ...

. After graduation, Lucas spent several years as a teacher and welfare case worker in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...

. In 1953 he joined the New York Police Department, where he remained for nine years, often working undercover in Harlem. From his experiences with the city legal system he decided to become a lawyer, and attended Fordham University at night. He received his law degree in 1962, and at the graduation ceremony, he was an escort for the speaker, Robert Kennedy, who offered him a job in the Justice Department. Lucas accepted and spent two years as an investigator in the civil rights division. He then joined the

Federal Bureau of Investigation The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is the domestic intelligence and security service of the United States and its principal federal law enforcement agency. Operating under the jurisdiction of the United States Department of Justice, ...

as a special agent, stationed first in

Cincinnati Cincinnati ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Hamilton County. Settled in 1788, the city is located at the northern side of the confluence of the Licking and Ohio rivers, the latter of which marks the state line wit ...

, and later in

Detroit Detroit ( , ; , ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is also the largest U.S. city on the United States–Canada border, and the seat of government of Wayne County. The City of Detroit had a population of 639,111 at t ...

. He left the Bureau in 1967 to become Wayne County undersheriff, and two years later was appointed Wayne County sheriff when Roman Gribbs vacated the position after winning election as mayor of Detroit. Lucas was elected Wayne County sheriff in his own right in 1970 and reelected twice thereafter, serving in that capacity for thirteen years. In 1982, he ran successfully for the newly created office of Wayne County Executive. He served for four years as the chief executive officer of the third largest county in the United States. Explaining that he was dismayed by the influence of special interests in the Democratic party, Lucas switched political affiliation to the Republican party in May 1985. He won the Republican gubernatorial primary in

1986 The year 1986 was designated as the International Year of Peace by the United Nations. Events January * January 1 **Aruba gains increased autonomy from the Netherlands by separating from the Netherlands Antilles. **Spain and Portugal enter ...

, only the second black in the history of the country to win a major party nomination for governor. He ran on a platform that stressed the historic nature of his candidacy, fiscal responsibility, and law and order, but lost by a large margin in the general election to the incumbent Democrat,

James Blanchard James Johnston Blanchard (born August 8, 1942) is an American retired attorney, diplomat, and politician who served as the 45th governor of Michigan from 1983 to 1991. A member of the Democratic Party, Blanchard previously served in the Unite ...

. Lucas only carried one county in the state. Lucas made an unsuccessful run for Wayne County Sheriff in 2004. Lucas died in Detroit on May 30, 2022, at the age of 94.

References

External links

article on Lucas' party switch

2004 ''Michigan Chronicle'' article on Lucas running for Wayne County Sheriff
Emergence of William Lucas, Republican
Article announcing death
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lucas, William 1928 births 2022 deaths African-American people in Michigan politics African-American sheriffs County executives in Michigan Federal Bureau of Investigation agents Fordham University alumni Michigan Democrats Michigan Republicans Sheriffs of Wayne County, Michigan New York City Police Department officers People from Harlem Politicians from Detroit 21st-century African-American people 20th-century African-American people Candidates in the 1986 United States elections Black conservatism in the United States