William Broomfield

William S. Broomfield, (April 28, 1922 – February 20, 2019) was an American politician from the U.S. state of Michigan.

William Broomfield
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives
from Michigan's 18th district
In office
January 3, 1983 – January 3, 1993
Preceded byJames Blanchard
Succeeded byConstituency abolished
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives
from Michigan's 19th district
In office
January 3, 1973 – January 3, 1983
Preceded byJack H. McDonald
Succeeded byConstituency abolished
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives
from Michigan's 18th district
In office
January 3, 1957 – January 3, 1973
Preceded byGeorge A. Dondero
Succeeded byRobert J. Huber
Member of the Michigan Senate
from the 12th district
In office
1955–1956
Preceded byGeorge N. Higgins
Succeeded byL. Harvey Lodge
Member of the Michigan House of Representatives
from the Oakland County 5th district
In office
1949–1954
Preceded byGeorge Mathieson
Succeeded byTheodore F. Hughes
Personal details
Born(1922-04-28)April 28, 1922
Royal Oak, Michigan, U.S.
DiedFebruary 20, 2019(2019-02-20) (aged 96)
Kensington, Maryland, U.S.
Political partyRepublican
Spouse
Jane
​
​
(m. 1951; died 2013)​
ProfessionReal Estate, Politician

Early life

Broomfield, the son of Scevillian C. and Fern Broomfield was born in Royal Oak, Michigan. His father was a dentist.[1] He graduated from Royal Oak High School in 1940 and attended Michigan State College (now Michigan State University) at East Lansing. During the Second World War, he served in the United States Army Air Corps. After the war, he engaged in the real-estate and property-management business.[2]

Political career
Broomfield and Jack Kemp discuss the budget of the United States with President Ronald Reagan in 1983

Broomfield was a member of the Michigan State House of Representatives, 1949–1954, serving as speaker pro tempore in 1953. He served in the Michigan State Senate in 1955 and 1956.

In 1956, Broomfield was elected as a Republican from Michigan's 18th District to the United States House of Representatives for the 85th and to the seventeen succeeding Congresses, serving from January 3, 1957, to January 3, 1993. Due to redistricting following U.S. Censuses, Broomfield served the 19th District, 1973–1983 and the 18th District, 1983–1993. He was not a candidate for renomination in 1992 to the 103rd Congress. The 18th District was discontinued following the 1990 census and for the most part redistricted as the 11th which elected Joe Knollenberg in 1993.

During his tenure in Congress, Broomfield served as a member of the U.S. House Committee on Foreign Affairs and was ranking member from 1975 until his retirement in 1993. At the time of his retirement, he was the longest serving Republican then serving in the House of Representatives. During his years of service in the House, Broomfield garnered praise from both sides of the aisle for his ethics, honesty and statesmanship. When he retired, he left behind a legacy of bipartisan friendship and cooperation.[3]

Broomfield voted in favor of the Civil Rights Acts of 1957,[4] 1960,[5] 1964,[6] and 1968,[7] as well as the 24th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution and the Voting Rights Act of 1965.[8][9]

Retirement

After retirement in 1993, Broomfield started a foundation that supports various charities in southeast Michigan, including the efforts to cure cancer, spina bifida and Alzheimer's, and the Salvation Army. A longtime resident of Lake Orion, Michigan, he last lived in Kensington, Maryland.

In September 2000, Congress designated the Royal Oak Post Office at 200 West 2nd Street in Royal Oak, Michigan, as the William S. Broomfield Post Office Building.

On December 30, 2006, Broomfield collapsed at the state funeral memorial for former U.S. President Gerald Ford at the United States Capitol, bringing the ceremonies to a temporary pause. The reason given for the collapse was exhaustion.[10]

Broomfield's wife Jane died on March 21, 2013, at the age of 97, due to heart failure.[11] Broomfield died on February 20, 2019, at the age of 96 in Kensington, Maryland, where he resided in his later years.[12][13]

References
  1. "Clipped From Detroit Free Press". Detroit Free Press. 29 March 1975. p. 11 – via newspapers.com.
  2. "The Political Graveyard: Index to Politicians: Brooks-bittings to Brougham". politicalgraveyard.com.
  3. "When Congressman's Papers Come to Museum's Calf Barn, Community Will Learn from His Leadership Story - Rochester-Rochester Hills, MI Patch". rochester.patch.com. Archived from the original on 26 August 2011. Retrieved 17 January 2022.
  4. "HR 6127. CIVIL RIGHTS ACT OF 1957". GovTrack.us.
  5. "HR 8601. PASSAGE".
  6. "H.R. 7152. PASSAGE".
  7. "TO PASS H.R. 2516, A BILL TO ESTABLISH PENALTIES FOR INTERFERENCE WITH CIVIL RIGHTS. INTERFERENCE WITH A PERSON ENGAGED IN ONE OF THE 8 ACTIVITIES PROTECTED UNDER THIS BILL MUST BE RACIALLY MOTIVATED TO INCUR THE BILL'S PENALTIES".
  8. "S.J. RES. 29. CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENT TO BAN THE USE OF POLL TAX AS A REQUIREMENT FOR VOTING IN FEDERAL ELECTIONS". GovTrack.us.
  9. "TO PASS H.R. 6400, THE 1965 VOTING RIGHTS ACT".
  10. "Ex-Congressman Collapses at Ford Funeral". The Washington Post. Associated Press. December 30, 2006. Retrieved December 11, 2018.
  11. "Jane Broomfield (Obituary)". Daily Tribune. March 31, 2013. Retrieved December 11, 2018.
  12. Connolly, Griffin (25 February 2019). "William Broomfield, former House GOP foreign policy guru, dies" – via www.rollcall.com.
  13. "Former US Rep. William Broomfield of Michigan dies at 96". WNEM Saginaw.
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