William O'Neill

William Michael O'Neill (born May 6, 1947) is an American lawyer, judge and political figure. He was elected to the Ohio Supreme Court in 2012, for a term beginning January 2013. He served as an appellate judge on the Ohio Eleventh District Court of Appeals for 10 years. Twice, O'Neill was the Democratic nominee for U.S. Representative in . He announced on October 29, 2017, as a candidate for Ohio Governor in the 2018 election. On December 8, 2017, he announced he would resign from the Supreme Court on January 26, 2018. Education and military service O'Neill graduated from Cleveland Heights High School in 1965 and Ohio University in 1969, at which point he joined the U.S. Army. He earned the Bronze Star in Vietnam and retired from the military in 2001 as a lieutenant colonel in the Ohio National Guard. With the help of the G.I. Bill, O'Neill graduated from the Cleveland State University College of Law in 1980. He also graduated from Huron School of Nursing as a registered nurse. Political campaigns 1996 Ohio Court of Appeals campaign In 1996, O'Neill won a seat on the Ohio Eleventh District Court of Appeals with about 50% of the vote. He served from 1997 to 2007, when he resigned to run for Congress.