William Winter (politician)

During the last week the House was in session in March 1956, State Tax Collector Nellah Massey Bailey unexpectedly died.[19][20] The State Tax Collector was one of the highest-paid positions in Mississippi. Tasked with collecting a "black market tax" in 1944, the office brought in large streams of revenue, mostly from illegal liquor sales, of which the office was entitled to keep 10 percent. Many legislators speculated about who would be appointed to the vacant, lucrative post.[21] Coleman, apologetic about not supporting Winter in his bid for the speakership, summoned the legislator from his desk on the House floor to his office and offered him the job, knowing that it would provide him with a large income and give him a platform from which he could make future bids for statewide office. Winter accepted, and the appointment was announced two days later.[19][20]

Winter assumed the role of State Tax Collector in April 1956.[22] While Mississippi was officially a dry state, enforcement of alcohol prohibitions were so haphazard and irregular across different jurisdictions that liquor sales were essentially treated as a local option issue, and the state hosted thousands of establishments that sold alcohol.[23] Enforcement of the black market tax was simple for Winter's office. He employed a few deputy tax collectors, a secretary, and a bookkeeper. Most of Mississippi's liquor was imported from Louisiana, and the two states' governments had earlier reached an agreement whereby Mississippi supplied Louisiana some funds in exchange for the latter providing a list of all Mississippian liquor purchasers. Supplied with this information, the deputy tax collectors would visit the bootleggers who had purchased liquor and apply a standard fee for cases of wine and liquor. Most bootleggers complied with the tax. Paying the tax did not exempt bootleggers from enforcement of dry laws, and Winter's office would supply certifications of black market tax payments as evidence of bootlegging to law enforcement officials upon request.[24]

Winter brought in a significant income while serving as tax collector. In 1958 his office brought in a record $1.3 million in revenue. Of this, the office received $130,000, and, after paying about $67,000 to cover his staff's salaries and other office expenses, he pocketed the rest. Winter averaged between $60,000 and $80,000 in personal income per year he held the office and cumulatively acquired about $600,000 throughout his seven and-a-half year tenure. A 1962 feature in Life stated that he was the second-highest remunerated public official, with the President of the United States being the first.[22] Some of Winter's opponents later asserted that his time as tax collector enabled him to become immensely wealthy. This was an exaggeration, though the tax collector's income enabled his family to live comfortably.[25]

Winter as Mississippi State Tax Collector, ca. 1964

Upon taking office, Winter promised to have it abolished. He felt the office was unnecessary and inefficient, and that its duties should be assigned to the State Tax Commission. He informed some legislators of his wish, but no action was taken towards the dissolution of the office in the legislature's 1958 session. This due to the opposition of the head of tax commission (who found the black market tax distasteful and wanted to dissociate himself from it), fears among legislators that such an action would provoke wider debates about the liquor issue, and the alleged opposition of other legislators including Sillers that dissolution of the office with Winter's support would amount to a victory for a political opponent.[26]

Winter decided to run for re-election in 1959. In January of that year circuit court Judge Sebe Dale, an avowed prohibitionist, denounced the tax collector office's arrangement with Louisiana as a felony conspiracy to violate state liquor laws and asked a Lamar County grand jury to indict Winter. The jury failed to indict him, but Dale declared he would ask a grand jury in each county on his circuit to indict the state tax collector.[27] When Dale held court in Lawrence County later in February, Winter snuck into the court room as Dale presented the case for an indictment to a grand jury. When Dale finished, Winter rose and asked for permission to argue his case to the jury. The judge refused, but the jury requested his argument. Winter explained to the jurors how the black market tax worked, stated that his actions were pursuant to the duties of his office as laid out by the legislator, highlighted the additional revenue raised by the tax, and asked for them to vote for his re-election. The jury failed to return an indictment and Dale ceased his quest against Winter.[28]

Winter faced nine opponents in his re-election bid, most of them arguing that he had had his "turn" in the high-paying office. He used $50,000 of his own money to fund his campaign, often by showing up at local television stations to buy air time, and then walking on set to deliver a campaign pitch in a live broadcast. His wife also traveled to speak on his behalf.[28] Winter failed to win an outright majority in the first primary, but won a runoff against John Whitfield Birdsong largely due to his more prominent public presence.[29] Secure in office, Winter devoted his time to other matters, such as managing his family's farm in Grenada. In April 1957 he was appointed to the board of trustees of Mississippi Department of Archives and History, a position he would hold for over 50 years.[29]

An active political figure, Winter traveled to deliver speeches and make appearances.[29] In this capacity he found the political situation necessitated that he offer a public position on racial issues and segregation. Though privately disagreeing with white extremism and massive resistance to federal integration efforts in favor of more subtle delay, he publicly supported segregation and otherwise tried to avoid addressing the issue. He cofounded a group of moderates, the Young Democrats, to serve as a counterweight to more extremists factions, though it gained little influence.[30] In 1960 he supported the national Democratic candidacies of John F. Kennedy and Lyndon B. Johnson for the presidency and vice presidency, despite an insurgent candidacy based on segregation headed by Mississippi Governor Ross Barnett.[31] Mississippi segregationist Citizens' Councils were distrustful of the national Democratic ticket and labeled Winter and all others who supported the ticket as "liberals".[32] Following the Ole Miss riot of 1962, Winter began seeking out a more moderate approach for the state to address federal integration.[33] At a public gathering at All Saints' College he stated that Mississippi required a leader "who can successfully turn his people from a preoccupation with the race issue and the supercharged emotions of fear, anxiety, and hate which that issue suggests" in favor of pursuing economic development and "an effective educational system".[34]

Winter also resumed his quest to have the State Tax Collector's office abolished, receiving support for the idea from the new head of the state tax commission. His opponents in the legislator also figured that it was more politically beneficial to allow Winter to take the credit for dissolving an unnecessary post than to let him remain in office and accumulate a large sum of money for future political campaigns. In 1962 the legislature passed a measure which would abolish the office and assign its responsibilities to the State Tax Commission effective January 1964, the end of Winter's term. He praised the action as "a step forward in state administration" that could quickly save the state $250,000 dollars.[35]

With his tenure as tax collector soon to end, Winter considered turning to full-time legal practice before ultimately deciding to run in 1963 for the office of Mississippi State Treasurer. He faced two opponents, B.G. Jones and Charlie Mosby.[36] He spent three months travelling the state to give stump speeches, and won the Democratic primary with 60 percent of the vote, winning 81 of Mississippi's 82 counties.[37] As treasurer, Winter was tasked with managing the distribution of funds across the state government. He was also in charge of issuing state bonds, though he encountered difficulty in selling them on New York financial markets due to Mississippi's lackluster national reputation for its opposition to civil rights.[38]

Meanwhile in Jackson, Fondren Church, of which Winter was a member, integrated with his support.[39] He was in Washington D.C. in November 1963 when he learned that President Kennedy had been assassinated. Winter was initially angered to learn that some Mississippian segregations were pleased by this development, but later expressions of mourning throughout the state led him to conclude that a "basic decency" prevailed in the state and could be used to challenge white racial extremism.[40] As violent resistance to desegregation increased, white moderates in Mississippi increasingly began seeking out a more middling strategy to deal with race issues and viewed Winter as a possible leader.[41] By early 1965 he had begun public appealing to Mississippians to stop resisting federal civil rights measures, saying to one gathering that the state needed "to lay aside old slogans and myths".[42]

That summer Winter attended the Neshoba County Fair. After a string of other politicians criticized the Civil Rights Act of 1964, he addressed the fairgoers to attack the "rash and reckless defiance by a political leadership that would invite bloodshed and the destruction of our institutions [...] Our state needs as never before the constructive leader who will find the solution who will find the way, not the despairing critic who knows only the voice of alarm."[43] In the latter portion of 1967 he oversaw the sale of a $130 million bond issue to support Ingalls Shipbuilding in Pascagoula. He left the treasurer's office in 1968.[44]

Despite his own doubts about the potential of a candidate with a moderate position on race, in January 1967 Winter announced himself as a candidate for the office of Governor of Mississippi in the 1967 election.[45] Among the candidates already in the race were former governor Barnett (who had been out of office the four previous years due to limits on gubernatorial succession), radio personality Jimmy Swan, and prosecutor Bill Waller.[46] Early polling showed Winter running second to Barnett. Many Mississippians opposed a second Barnett term and recruited Congressman John Bell Williams, a segregationist with a reputation as an effective campaigner, to run, much to Winter's disappointment.[47]

Winter ran by emphasizing his Mississippian roots and experience in government, and promised to improve education and job opportunities. His campaign also produced some of the first modern television political advertisements in the state's history. Incumbent Governor Paul B. Johnson Jr. did not endorse any candidates but was rumored to favor Winter.[48] An April poll showed Winter leading the primary with 45 percent of the vote, with Williams following at 31 percent.[49] Despite occasional jeering at public appearances accusing him of being a "nigger-lover", he tried to avoid discussing race early on in the campaign,[50] instead saying he wanted to focus on "bread-and-butter issues, not the old emotional ones—not racial issues."[51] While the passage of the federal Voting Rights Act of 1965 had enabled the registration of thousands of new black voters in the state,[52][51] None of the other candidates planned to openly appeal to the black electorate.[50]

As the primary campaign went on, Winter increasingly sought to appeal to white segregationists. He attended the Jackson Citizens' Council's forum in May with the other candidates.[50] Responding to a question concerning school integration, he said, "The overwhelming majority of Mississippians don't like the chaos that is being forced upon our schools by the HEW [...] I have three little girls and I am not going to forsake them to the HEW social planners and bleeding heart liberals as long as there is a breath in my body."[53] Responding to another question, he said, "I was born a segregationist and raised a segregationist. I have always defended that position. I defend it now."[53] He finished by saying that it would be "the greatest disservice" if racial issues became "a political football" and said "The people of Mississippi want a man who is not afraid to fight [...] but one who has common sense enough to win. They are tired of losers [...] they want winners.[54] This spawned a new slogan for Winter's campaign, "Fight to Win for Mississippi".[55]

Feeling that he had done enough to address the race issue, Winter refocused his efforts on fleshing out a political platform. He proposed a "Winter Plan for Better Schools" which included decreasing class sizes, boosting teachers' and other school staff members' salaries, and increasing course offerings. He also released 12-point plan for industrial development.[55] His campaign ultimately developed 15 "Winter Plans" for various issues.[56] Winters' opponents kept their focus on race and denounced him as a "liberal".[55] Barnett attacked him for his service as State Tax Collector, being involved in the "illegal" liquor trade.[57] Some black leaders quietly backed Winters, mindful that a vocal show of support would tarnish his image among white Mississippians.[58] Winter tried to counter segregationists' doubts about him by tying himself to Senators Jim Eastland and John Stennis—both clear segregationists—and by stressing law and order—a position which placed him in contrast to disorderly civil rights protests and riots elsewhere in the country.[59] He generally refrained from directly attacking the other candidates.[60]

In the August 8 primary, Winter led with 222,001 votes, while Williams followed closely with 197,778.[60] In anticipation of the runoff primary, Winter and his team decided that they would need to pick up the votes of segregationist who had sided with Barnett and Swan by characterizing Williams as an inadequate defender of segregation.[61] Barnett endorsed Winter to avenge Williams' attacks on himself.[62] Winter initially adopted a hardline stance on segregation, saying he opposed the presidency of Lyndon B. Johnson and would support Alabama Governor George Wallace or Republican Ronald Regan in the 1968 presidential election "to preserve conservative government".[63] Quickly losing the will to continue this line, he returned to his previous messages emphasizing his experience and his plans for reform. Williams and his supporters in turn attacked Winter as disingenuous.[64] His campaign also distributed literature which warned that "William Winter's election will ensure negro domination of Mississippi's elections for generations to come."[65] In the August 29 primary, Winter received the majority of the black vote but lost to Williams, 310,527 votes to 371,815.[66]

Having left the treasurer's office, Winter decided to pursue private legal work. At the suggestion of municipal bond attorney John N. Mitchell, he joined with several other lawyers in creating a successful bond practice.[67] The Winter family continued to support the public school system in Jackson during integration efforts as many white parents withdrew their children, leading them and other public school proponents to receive cards in the mail saying "You are being watched."[68] Concern about racial issues continued to worry Winter as he mulled a potential run for governor in 1971. Senator Eastland and former governor Johnson both encouraged him to enter to fight their political enemy and presumptive frontrunner, Lieutenant Governor Charles L. Sullivan. Winter was concerned about what "commitments" he would have to make by entering the race with endorsement of such conservative politicians and he was still focused on retiring outstanding debts from his previous gubernatorial campaign. Instead, he opted for a run for the office of Lieutenant Governor of Mississippi, which had attracted no obvious major candidates and would allow him time to continue at his bond practice. He publicly declared his run in April 1967.[69]

Race ultimately became a much more muted factor in the Democratic primary; moderate Bill Waller won the nomination for governor. Winter faced opposition from district attorney Cliff Finch and segregationist Elmore Greaves. He campaigned on the same issues of education and economic development he had discussed in 1967, and paid more attention to organizing young voters. He won the first primary with 60 percent of the vote.[70] Though somewhat regretful that he had not entered the gubernatorial race, as lieutenant governor Winter held significant influence; the office presided over the Senate, appointed its committees, chaired its rules committee, cast tie-breaking votes in the body, and he was ex officio member of a number of state boards.[71] His feelings about holding the office were generally mixed, appreciating remaining involved in politics but disappointed that he did not have "access to the center of [the] decision-making process."[72] He did not desire multiple terms and dodged controversial issues, leading some observers to characterize him as a weak legislative figure.[72]

Though the legislature was in session only about three or four months a year, Winter spent about half of his working days tending to legislative matters. He was challenged in his leadership of the Senate by finance committee chairman Ellis B. Bodron and appropriations committee chairman Bill Burgin,[73] though he made allies among some freshman senators and a few more longer-tenured members. He attempted to seek consensus as the Senate's presiding officer, but would converse with committee chairman to bring measures to the floor for a vote if he thought them important and used his power to assign bills to committees to protect legislation he favored.[74] During the 1974 session Winter employed the latter ability to his advantage by assigning a 16th Section Land-use reform bill to the judiciary committee and not its anticipated recipient, the education committee, where member Burgin was likely to quash it. This led Burgin to charge up to the lieutenant governor's dais during a debate, shouting, "You'll never get another vote from Lowndes County," and provoking the intervention of the sergeant-at-arms. The reform bill ultimately passed.[75] He also used legislative maneuvers to ensure the passage of a small loan reform bill[76] and supported improvements to social services, increased protection for natural resources, and the ratification of the Equal Rights Amendment (which did not occur).[77] Winter's primary focus while serving as lieutenant governor was education reform, though most measures towards this effort—including bills to create public kindergartens and reestablish a compulsory education requirement—were killed in the Senate's education committee.[78]

Winter had minimal communication with Governor Waller during his tenure, largely due to the latter's lack of attentiveness to legislative affairs and the former's desire to remain independent of the governor.[79] Both men encouraged the reunification of the Mississippi Freedom Democratic Party with the regular Democratic delegation without success in advance of the 1972 Democratic National Convention. The two men avoided the convention and Winter was worried by its nomination of liberal George McGovern, who he ultimately voted for but did not publicly support.[80] Winter and Waller served as ex officio members of the Mississippi State Sovereignty Commission, which was established by the legislature in 1956 to maintain segregation in the state. Both men maintained their distance from the body, and Winter only attended its meetings once to affirm the governor's veto of its funding, and it de facto ceased to exist in 1973.[81]

Winter began planning another gubernatorial campaign after the 1972 legislative session ended and officially kicked-off his campaign in June 1975.[82] Despite advice from a pollster and other politicians that Mississippians wanted a candidate who represented "change" in wake of the Watergate scandal, Winter's campaign focused on his record and experience. His campaign material attempted to characterize him as warmer and down-to-earth, but this image gained little traction.[83] His attempts to portray himself as honest and principled were sullied by some ethics complaints from State Senator Theodore Smith and his opposition to a limit on campaign spending. Winter attempted to cultivate black support but, fearful of a backlash from conservative whites, made no open appeals to the black community.[84] Polls conducted in July 1975 showed Winter still leading for the first Democratic primary, and he gained the endorsement of several major newspapers.[85]

Meanwhile, one opponent, Cliff Finch, ran a "working man's" campaign which featured him performing various manual labor tasks. Winter dismissed these as gimmicks and stunts, but they garnered support for Finch. Another candidate, Maurice Dantin, accused Winter of having a conflict of interest by remaining at his law firm while serving as lieutenant governor. Television ads broadcasting in the last two weeks of the campaign before the primary repeated this message and, despite some factual inaccuracies, damaged Winter's appeal.[86] Winter led the first primary with 36 percent of the vote, while Finch came second with 32 and Dantin placed third.[87] Winter and Finch both repeated the same messages they had used in the first primary in anticipation of the runoff, though Winter's campaign literature advertised him as "A statesman. Not a stuntman."[88] He also criticized Finch as lacking in a substantive program, but increasingly the working class began to view Finch as a "friend".[89] Finch also made successful entreaties to black voters.[90] In the runoff, Finch won with 58 percent of the vote, one of the largest victories ever in a gubernatorial runoff.[91] The defeat left him convinced that his political career was over.[92]

Winter at the 2014 Neshoba County Fair

Winter returned to the practice of law after following his time in public office. He worked as Special Counsel in the Government Relations Practice Group of the law firm of Jones Walker of New Orleans, Louisiana, with offices in Jackson, Mississippi.[101]

Winter was appointed co-chairman of President Clinton’s Advisory Board on Race and served in that role from 1997 to 1998.[102] The William Winter Institute for Racial Reconciliation, on the University of Mississippi's Oxford campus, is named in his honor, as is the William F. Winter Professorship in the Department of History. The Mississippi Democratic Party's Jefferson-Jackson Dinner fundraiser was renamed the Hamer-Winter Dinner in honor of Winter and civil rights activist Fannie Lou Hamer.

In March 2008, Winter was given the Profile in Courage Award by the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum for his work advancing education and racial reconciliation.

Winter died at the age of 97 on December 18, 2020.[103][104][105] Due to the limitations of the COVID-19 pandemic, a public funeral was not held. Winter was eulogized by his pastor, Robert Lowry, in a New Years Day article in Mississippi Today.[106]

• Bolton, Charles C. (2013). William F. Winter and the New Mississippi: A Biography. Jackson: University Press of Mississippi. ISBN 978-1-61703-787-0.
• Nash, Jere; Taggart, Andy (2009). Mississippi Politics: The Struggle for Power, 1976-2008 (second ed.). University Press of Mississippi. ISBN 9781604733570.

• Winter, William F. "William F. Winter." In Growing Up In Mississippi, edited by Judy H. Tucker and Charline R. McCord, 3-10. Jackson: University Press of Mississippi, 2008.

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