Bill Busick
American socialist (1904–1974)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
William Wesley Busick[1] (May 26, 1904 – June 28, 1974)[2] was an American labor organizer and Socialist Party functionary who served as state chairman of the Socialist Party of California from 1930[3] to 1932.[4][5][6] He ran against Republican Clarence N. Wakefield for State Assembly in 1930, polling 38% of the vote, the best showing of any Socialist candidate in the state.[7] He was one of the leaders of a 1937 sit-down strike at the Douglas Aircraft Company plant in Santa Monica.[8]
Bill Busick | |
|---|---|
Busick in 1937 | |
| Chairman of the Socialist Party of California | |
| In office September 27, 1930 – c. June 1932 | |
| Preceded by | Cameron H. King |
| Succeeded by | Chaim Shapiro |
| Personal details | |
| Born | May 26, 1904 Elyria, Ohio, U.S. |
| Died | June 28, 1974 (aged 70) Alameda, California, U.S. |
| Party | Socialist |
| Education | Oberlin College |
| Occupation | Labor organizer, restaurant owner |
Twenty years later Busick, now a restaurant owner and taxpayers' rights advocate, returned to politics when he ran a write-in campaign for governor of California in the 1966 election. Running as an independent Democrat, he presented himself as a protest vote against incumbent governor Pat Brown, who he claimed did not have the confidence of his party.[9]
Fred Okrand, former legal director of the ACLU of Southern California, remembered Busick as "a dynamic speaker, very articulate, [who] carried himself very well."[10]
