William J. “Bill” Cole, III began his political career at Hinds Community College in Raymond, Mississippi, where he was elected student body president. After college and law school, he served as a legislative assistant to Congressman Charles Griffin of Mississippi’s 4th Congressional District and then as an executive assistant and campaign manager to the late Mississippi Attorney General, A.F. Summer. He was the campaign director for former Mississippi Governor William Winter’s 1979 campaign and later served as Winter’s chief of staff.
Winter appointed Cole to finish the unexpired term of State Treasurer John Dale after his passing in 1980. Cole was then elected to a full term as State Treasurer in 1984. As Mississippi State Treasurer, Cole developed the Unclaimed Properties Act, which returns millions of dollars to Mississippians annually, and was elected President of the National Association of State Treasurers and won the Elected Public Official of the Year award while in office. Cole was also a member of the State Bond Commission and Depository Commission. He was also a former chairman of the Board of Trustees for the Public Employees Retirement System, or PERS, which is the publicly funded retirement program for all state employees in Mississippi.
Cole was active in both the Mississippi and National Democratic Party organizations, serving as a member of the State Executive Committee, the National Democratic Party Commission and as Chair of the National Democratic Statewide Elected Officials Association. He also served on the Advisory Committee on Infrastructure Financing for the United States Senate Committee on the Budget and the Executive Committee on the Council of State Governments, among other posts.
At the end of his term as State Treasurer in 1988, Cole practiced law, with an emphasis on public finance, municipal bonds, and environmental law. Prior to his death in 2003, Mr. Cole was admitted to practice before the Supreme Court of the United States.
Cole resided with his wife, Deborah, and two sons in Jackson, MS.
