Bill Corrigan - St. Louis County Gets a Great Republican to Run for County Executive

Bill Corrigan has finally announced a run for public office. I've seen it coming since 1982, when Bill and I started law school together, and we were both elected as 1l representatives to the student bar association.

Bill Corrigan is a good man. I got to know him well in Law School over Booche burgers and pitchers of beer at the Heidelberg. I got to know him better when we served together on the Missouri Bar Young Lawyers Section Council, and I worked with him when we were both on the Missouri Bar Board of Governors. Since then, we've stayed in touch through occasional phone calls or meals in each others' towns.

Bill is devoted to public service, and always has been. I remember in the summer of 1993, when flooding struck hard in Missouri, and the Missouri Bar Young Lawyers stepped up to coordinate free legal assistance in Disaster Assistance Centers in all affected counties. Bill was chair of the YLS at the time, and the leadership of the effort fell on his shoulders.

He did an outstanding job, both in the nitty-gritty detail of keeping up on which DACs were open in which counties for what times, and in the politics of making certain that the best possible support was available despite the efforts of some officials to turn the tragedy into a self-promotional photo-op. While others made sure to get their pictures taken with a sandbag or two, Bill was up early every morning for weeks, participating in conference calls, reporting on shifts filled, and collaborating on form legal documents and background briefings for volunteer attorneys. It was an incredible demonstration of serious public service over and above the time and energy pressures faced by a young attorney trying to "make partner" at a large law firm.

None of this even gets mentioned on his resume.

Of course, the vast majority of the reasons I think Bill would be great for public office don't show up on any resume. Instead, they are the sorts of things you learn through working with a guy and seeing first-hand his compassion, energy, intellect and spontaneous humor. I've had my share of disagreements with Bill on dozens of issues, and he has always been respectful, rational and well-thought-out.

I don't know Charlie Dooley and I don't like supporting Republicans, but Bill Corrigan is a truly great guy I've admired for a quarter century. If Dooley's campaign believes that he is "another lamb for slaughter", as they've claimed, I can understand how they could be misled by his kind personality. But Bill Corrigan is a serious force who gets things done. I know Bill well, and I can assure you that he has a plan to win this thing, and that, when he does, he will be effective and wise in his governance of the County.