Friend Richardson

Friend Richardson

Friend William Richardson (born December 1, 1865 in Friends Colony, Michigan , † September 6, 1943 in Berkeley , California ) was an American politician and the 25th governor of California .

youth

Friend Richardson was the son of William and Rhoda Richardson, a Quaker family based in Friends Colony near Ann Arbor . His actual baptismal name was Richard, but based on the Quaker greeting "Friend" he changed his name accordingly. He spent his youth in his home parish. There he was employed, among other things, by the district and judicial administration. He moved to San Bernardino , California around 1891 , and in 1896 became the owner and editor of a local newspaper. In 1900 he moved to Berkeley, where he bought and edited the Berkeley Daily Gazette, also a newspaper.

Political beginnings

Thanks to his now very good reputation, California politicians became aware of him. With the approval of the California State Assembly and Governor Henry Gage , he was appointed director of the California State Printing House. He had to move to Sacramento to take up this post . Despite his new role, he continued to own his newspapers in San Bernardino and Berkeley. In 1914 he was elected State Treasurer of California and confirmed in this office in 1918. In 1914 he stood for the Progressive Party , after whose decline he converted to the Republicans and, with their support, was re-elected. Over time, his political attitudes became more and more conservative. In 1922 he applied for the Republican nomination for governor. He prevailed within the party against incumbent William Stephens . Finally, he also won the actual election against Thomas L. Woolwine, the Democratic Party candidate with 59 percent to 36 percent of the vote. In the meantime, however, Richardson had become so conservative that he was even supported by the Ku Klux Klan in the election campaign .

Governor of California

Richardson took up his new office on January 9, 1923. In his inaugural address, he announced a rigorous austerity program. He condemned the policies of his predecessors as wasteful. He immediately had the administrative apparatus screened for potential savings. Overlapping areas were merged and unnecessary areas were deleted. Richardson's savings plans were beginning to go too far for the California Parliament. A proposal by the governor to close two universities for cost reasons was rejected. His more and more conservative course soon met resistance from his own party. For this reason, Richardson was unable to find a majority in his party for the 1926 election. In his place, Vice Governor C. C. Young was appointed and eventually elected. However, Richardson was able to record a positive result of his tenure: his austerity course brought the state budget a surplus of 20 million dollars.

Old age and death

After the end of his tenure, Richardson was again active as a journalist. In 1931 he became editor of the newspaper "Alemeda Time Star". In the years 1932 to 1939 he was again appointed to high administrative offices of the state. In 1939 he finally withdrew. He died on September 6, 1943 of complications from a heart attack.

Richardson was a member of several Masonic lodges. Since 1891 he was married to Augusta Felder. The couple had three children.

Web links

• Friend Richardson in the National Governors Association (English)
• Friend Richardson in the nndb (English)

• Friend Richardson in the database of Find a Grave (English)
• Profile in the Governor's Library (English)