William J. Fields

William Jason Fields (December 29, 1874 – October 21, 1954) was an American politician from the U.S. state of Kentucky. Known as "Honest Bill from Olive Hill", he represented Kentucky's Ninth District in the U.S. House of Representatives from 1911 to 1923, resigning to become the state's 41st governor.

Discouraged by an early defeat for a seat in the state legislature, Fields took a job at a grocery store in Ashland, Kentucky that allowed him to travel the state and meet many people in his congressional district. In 1911, he became the first Democrat elected to Congress from the Ninth District in two decades. Elected to seven consecutive terms, he rose to become the ranking member of the House Committee on Military Affairs during World War I. When Democratic gubernatorial nominee J. Campbell Cantrill died unexpectedly two months before the general election, the Democratic Central Committee chose Fields to replace Cantrill as the nominee. In a campaign that featured more name-calling than substantial debate, Fields secured the backing of the powerful Jockey Club political alliance and won a landslide victory over Republican Attorney General Charles I. Dawson.

The first legislative session of Fields' term was marked by infighting within his own party. His agenda was opposed by a Democratic faction led by former governor J. C. W. Beckham, Louisville Courier-Journal publisher Robert Worth Bingham, and political boss Percy Haly. Fields' signature issue, a $75 million bond issue to construct a state highway system, passed the legislature in 1924, but the electorate refused to approve it in November of that year. Among Fields' accomplishments as governor were an increase in the gasoline tax to help fund his highway program, a reorganization of the state's government bureaucracy, and the preservation of Cumberland Falls from industrial development. He never united the factions of his party, however. His political enemies charged him with nepotism and abusing his pardon power, and the Democrats lost the governorship in 1927 to Republican Flem D. Sampson. Following his service as governor, Fields failed in an attempt to return to his former congressional seat. He was appointed to the State Workman's Compensation Board by Governor A. B. "Happy" Chandler, and after his retirement from public service, he practiced law and worked as a real estate agent until his death on October 21, 1954.

Early life William J. Fields was born December 29, 1874, in Willard, Kentucky. He was the fourth of twelve children born to Christopher C. and Alice (Rucker) Fields. He was educated in the local public schools, then matriculated to the University of Kentucky.

On October 10, 1893, Fields married Dora McDaniel; the couple had six children. A member of the Committee on Military Affairs, he eventually became the ranking Democrat on the committee and the ranking member of the subcommittee that controlled appropriations for U.S. operations during World War I. Fields' opponent, Republican Attorney General Charles I. Dawson, mocked Fields' traditional election slogan, calling him "Dodging Bill from Olive Hill, who answers no questions and never will". Fields countered by referring to Dawson as "Changing Charlie", a reference to Dawson's one-time affiliation with the Democratic Party prior to becoming a Republican. These three were the leaders of the Jockey Club, a group dedicated to the preservation of parimutuel betting in the state, especially at racetracks. Fields' frugality also led him to keep dairy cows on the mansion's lawn, drawing derision from urban citizens. When Senator Stanley, an opponent of prohibition, sought re-election to the Senate in 1924, Fields and his allies did not support him, leading to the election of Republican Frederick M. Sackett and giving the Republicans both of the state's senate seats for the first time in history.

The signature issue of the session, however, was Fields' request for the bond issue. He engaged in a debate with opponents of the issue that was published in Bingham's Courier-Journal as well as the Louisville Herald and Louisville Post, two papers owned by James B. Brown. The Courier-Journal continued the fight against the issue, while Desha Breckinridge's Lexington Herald came out in favor of it. Vinson successfully reclaimed his seat in the general election from Kendall.

In 1932, Fields was elected Commonwealth's Attorney for Kentucky's thirty-seventh judicial district; he served until 1935. In 1934, Fields again challenged Congressman Vinson in the Democratic primary in the renumbered 8th district, but he lost again by a decisive margin of 68% to 32%. In 1936, Governor A. B. "Happy" Chandler appointed him to the State Workmen's Compensation Board. He served in this capacity until the election of Republican Simeon S. Willis.

Fields retired from public service on August 8, 1944. From 1940 to 1945, he co-owned an insurance agency. He briefly moved to Florida before returning to Olive Hill, where he continued practicing law, and farming. He died in Grayson, Kentucky on October 21, 1954, and was buried in Olive Hill Cemetery in Olive Hill.