William O'Dell
William H. O'Dell (b. October 11, 1938 - d. January 7, 2016) was a Republican member of the South Carolina State Senate, representing District 4 from 1988 to January 7, 2016. He died at his home from an apparent heart condition.[1]
O'Dell switched his party identification from Democratic to Republican in September 2003.[2]
Biography
O'Dell earned his B.A. in history from The Citadel in 1960. At the time of his death, he was the CEO of the O'Dell Corporation.
O'Dell was the vice chair of Greenwood School District 51 from 1974 to 1981. He also served in the South Carolina National Guard from 1956 to 1958.
Committee assignments
2015 legislative session
At the beginning of the 2015 legislative session, O'Dell served on the following committees:
| South Carolina committee assignments, 2015 |
|---|
| • Banking and Insurance |
| • Finance |
| • General, Chair |
| • Interstate Cooperation |
| • Labor, Commerce and Industry |
2013-2014
At the beginning of the 2013 legislative session, O'Dell served on the following committees:
| South Carolina committee assignments, 2013 |
|---|
| • Banking and Insurance |
| • Finance |
| • General, Chair |
| • Interstate Cooperation |
| • Labor, Commerce and Industry |
2011-2012
In the 2011-2012 legislative session, O'Dell served on the following committees:
| South Carolina committee assignments, 2011 |
|---|
| • Banking and Insurance |
| • Finance |
| • General |
| • Invitations |
| • Labor, Commerce and Industry |
2009-2010
In the 2009-2010 legislative session, O'Dell served on the following committees:
| South Carolina committee assignments, 2009 |
|---|
| • Banking and Insurance |
| • Finance |
| • General |
| • Invitations |
Sponsored legislation
The following table lists bills this person sponsored as a legislator, according to BillTrack50 and sorted by action history. Bills are sorted by the date of their last action. The following list may not be comprehensive. To see all bills this legislator sponsored, click on the legislator's name in the title of the table.
Elections
2012
O'Dell won election in the 2012 election for South Carolina State Senate District 4. O'Dell defeated Riley Harvell in the June 12 Republican primary and ran unopposed in the general election, which took place on November 6, 2012.[3][4][5][6]
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican |  William O'Dell Incumbent |
99% | 24,929 | |
| Other | Write-Ins | 1% | 262 | |
| Total Votes | 25,191 | |||
| Candidate | Vote % | Votes |
|---|---|---|
|
Billy O'Dell Incumbent |
58.4% | 3,031 |
| Riley Harvell | 41.6% | 2,155 |
| Total Votes | 5,186 | |
2008
On November 4, 2008, O'Dell won re-election for District 4 of the South Carolina State Senate with 21,676 votes, ahead of Democrat Leonardo Ortiz (10,475) and write-ins (48).[7]
Bryant raised $122,263 for his campaign, against $3,933 by Ortiz.[8]
| South Carolina State Senate, District 4 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Candidates | Votes | |||
| William O'Dell (R)
|
21,676 | |||
| Leonardo Ortiz | 10,475 | |||
| Write-ins | 48 | |||
Campaign finance summary
Note: The finance data shown here comes from the disclosures required of candidates and parties. Depending on the election or state, this may represent only a portion of all the funds spent on their behalf. Satellite spending groups may or may not have expended funds related to the candidate or politician on whose page you are reading this disclaimer. Campaign finance data from elections may be incomplete. For elections to federal offices, complete data can be found at the FEC website. Click here for more on federal campaign finance law and here for more on state campaign finance law.
Scorecards
A scorecard evaluates a legislator’s voting record. Its purpose is to inform voters about the legislator’s political positions. Because scorecards have varying purposes and methodologies, each report should be considered on its own merits. For example, an advocacy group’s scorecard may assess a legislator’s voting record on one issue while a state newspaper’s scorecard may evaluate the voting record in its entirety.
Ballotpedia is in the process of developing an encyclopedic list of published scorecards. Some states have a limited number of available scorecards or scorecards produced only by select groups. It is Ballotpedia’s goal to incorporate all available scorecards regardless of ideology or number.
Click here for an overview of legislative scorecards in all 50 states. To contribute to the list of South Carolina scorecards, email suggestions to editor@ballotpedia.org.
2015
In 2015, the South Carolina State Legislature was in session from January 13 through June 4.
- Conservation Voters of South Carolina - 2015-2016 scorecard
- Legislators are scored on their votes on bills related to environmental and conservation issues.
- South Carolina Chamber of Commerce - 2015 legislative scorecard & year in review
- Legislators are scored on business issues.
- Legislators are scored on their votes on bills supported or opposed by the organization.
- Legislators are scored on their votes on conservative issues.
2014
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2014, click [show]. |
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In 2014, the South Carolina State Legislature was in session from January 14 through June 6.
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2013
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2013, click [show]. |
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In 2013, the South Carolina State Legislature was in session from January 8 to June 20.
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2012
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2012, click [show]. |
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In 2012, the South Carolina State Legislature was in session from January 11 through June 7.
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2011
| To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2011, click [show]. |
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In 2011, the South Carolina State Legislature was in session from January 11 through June 2. On June 2, 2011, Governor Nikki Haley (R) attempted to call the legislature into an "emergency" special session to begin on June 7 to create the new South Carolina Department of Administration. A lawsuit was filed by Senate President Pro Tem Glenn McConnell (R), in which he contended that Haley's call for a special session was unconstitutional, and that it violated the state Constitution's requirement of separation of powers among the governor, legislature and courts.[9] On June 6, the South Carolina Supreme Court ruled 3-2 against Governor Haley, stating that her order violated the Legislature's ability to set its calendar and agenda. The legislature met in a special redistricting session from June 14 - July 1.[10] The legislature re-convened July 26.[11]
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The Palmetto Liberty PAC Scorecard
The Palmetto Liberty Political Action Committee, a conservative, pro-limited government think tank in South Carolina, releases its scorecard for South Carolina representatives and senators once a year. The scorecard gives each legislator a score based on how he or she voted in the two-year legislative term prior to the election on specific issues that the Palametto Liberty PAC thinks are anti-limited government. "Most of the votes shown on the score card are votes that we lost. Now we can identify the Legislators that caused us to lose these votes. These Legislators are the ones who need to be replaced if we are to achieve the vision of having the most free state in the nation."[12]
2012
William O'Dell received a score of 18% in the 2012 score card, ranking 21st out of all 46 South Carolina Senate members.[13] His score was followed by Senators Greg Ryberg (18%), Nikki G. Setzler (18%), and Jake Knotts (12%).[14]
Personal
Note: Please contact us if the personal information below requires an update.
O'Dell and his wife, Aedra, have two children.
Recent news
This section links to a Google news search for the term "William + O'Dell + South + Carolina + Senate"
See also
- South Carolina State Legislature
- South Carolina State Senate
- South Carolina State Senate Committees
- South Carolina Joint Committees
- South Carolina state legislative districts
External links
- Profile from Open States
- Legislative profile from Project Vote Smart
- Biography from Project Vote Smart
- Campaign Contributions: 2012, 2010, 2008, 2006, 2004, 2002, 2000, 1996
Footnotes
- ↑ ABC Columbia, "SC Senate remembers Senator O’Dell," accessed January 12, 2016
- ↑ The Associated Press, "State Sen. Billy O'Dell switches to GOP," September 17, 2003
- ↑ AP.org, "South Carolina State Senate and State House Election Results," accessed November 7, 2012
- ↑ South Carolina State Election Commission, "2012 Candidates," accessed April 25, 2012
- ↑ South Carolina State Election Commission, "Official Primary Results," June 29, 2012
- ↑ South Carolina State Election Commission, “2012 General Election – Official Results,” November 19, 2012
- ↑ South Carolina State Election Commission, "Official election results for 2008," accessed May 15, 2014
- ↑ Follow the Money, "2008 campaign contributions," accessed May 15, 2014
- ↑ The State, "High court rules against Haley," June 6, 2011
- ↑ The Sun News, "S.C. House to have special session in June," May 6, 2011
- ↑ The Island Packet, "S.C. Senate OKs new congressional districted anchored in Beaufort County," June 29, 2011
- ↑ The Palmetto Liberty Political Action Committee, "Voting Records," accessed April 11, 2014
- ↑ Palmetto Liberty Political Action Committee, "South Carolina Senate Score Card 2012," accessed May 15, 2014
- ↑ Palmetto Liberty Political Action Committee: South Carolina Senate Score Card 2012, 2012
| Political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by ' |
South Carolina State Senate - District 4 1988-2016 |
Succeeded by Michael Gambrell (R) |
