On Saturday afternoon, former Governor, William Atchison O'Neill passed away after a long battle with illness.

The well-liked conservative Democrat became governor after replacing Ella Grasso, who was forced to step down due to her battle with cancer, in December 1980. O'Neil's bi-partisan popularity and genuine likability attributed to his 10-year span the state's leader making him the most longest-running governor in recent history.

Today's Hartford Courant has several articles and tributes to O'Neill which are well worth the read (Courant look back on O'Neill's life, Courant timeline on O'Neill, comments from state leaders on O'Neill).

The New London Day came out with an editorial that best sums up O'Neill's political career.

William A. O'Neill never aspired to be governor, but was a good one. Good job, governor.

Connecticut citizens are, by and large, a practical lot. They are centrist in their politics, neither embracing bigger government to solve all their problems, nor naïve enough to think a totally unfettered approach to free enterprise can guarantee the greater good is served.

Perhaps that is why Gov. William A. O'Neill, who died Saturday at age 77, was such a popular governor for so long. Bill O'Neill was, above all other things, a pragmatist.

He was a political insider, but not in the negative sense that term has become equated with. He genuinely felt those who make politics their career and their passion are better able to select the best candidates to win a general election.

[...]

During most of the 10 years of Gov. O'Neill's tenure, including twice being elected in his own right, the state's economy would grow. Gov. O'Neill used the resulting increase in tax revenues to address state needs. State spending increased 140 percent during his service as governor. But this was not the product of an ideological belief that government had to play the primary role in improving society, but a result of Gov. O'Neill's practical approach of problem solving. Things needed to get done and the state had the money to pay for them.

Teacher salaries were raised to keep good teachers working and attract educational talent to the state. Environmental regulations were passed and more aggressively enforced. The human services safety net was expanded to help the poor and fill gaps caused by federal social spending cutbacks during the presidency of Ronald Reagan.

When a section of the Mianus River Bridge on Interstate 95 collapsed in 1983, killing three, Gov. O'Neill led the drive for a $6.5 billion plan to rebuild much of the highway infrastructure.

Gov. O'Neill appointed the first woman chief justice and the first black justice to the Supreme Court and named the first woman attorney general. This ever practical man, who in 1969 had voted against a law allowing women to belly up to the bar, had changed with the times.

When the economy slowed, Connecticut confronted a nearly $1 billion deficit, and Gov. O'Neill supported a hodge-podge of new taxes to makes ends meet. The budget problems eroded his popularity and in 1990, after 10 years in office, Gov. O'Neill chose not to seek a third term.

It was left to his successor, Lowell P. Weicker Jr., elected as a third-party candidate, to push through an income tax that placed the state back on firm financial footing, at least for a time.

Gov. O'Neill never had an inflated sense of importance. He sought only to serve by succeeding in the endeavor he loved most and did best — politics. It was a path that led him — by his own account, unexpectedly — to the highest position in state government.

[...]

William A. Stanley, vice president of development and community relations at Lawrence & Memorial Hospital in New London, and a former campaign press secretary for Gov. O'Neill, said it best:

“We're all better for knowing him.”

UPDATE: The Courant is reporting that funeral services are set for Thursday.

UPDATE 2: Deputy Speaker and 110th State Rep. Bob Godfrey issued this statement on the passing of Gov. O'Neil.

I had the honor of serving my first term in the Connecticut House of Representatives while Bill O’Neil was Governor. Let me note right at the beginning that it’s better with a Democratic Governor! The state made more progress, more people prospered, and the quality of life improved more with Bill O’Neil as Governor than with anyone else since.

First and foremost, he was truly the education governor. Not only did he push to increase teacher salaries (at a time when teachers were abandoning the profession for higher-paying private sector business jobs) through state formula grants to school districts, but he pioneered the state’s commitment to capital improvements both in public schools and in the state’s university system (hence the O’Neil Center at WCSU).

Second, he was the last Governor to propose investment in decent and affordable housing, famously noting in a speech to the General Assembly that such housing was a human right. Sadly, a string of Republican governors has abandoned this promise, even to the point of abolishing the Housing Department.

Third, he was a bold innovator. The best example was his proposal to repair and upgrade the state’s transportation system. Maintenance had been deeply cut by his predecessor, resulting with the infamous collapse of the Mianus river Bridge on the Connecticut Turnpike. He created the transportation fund, separate from the general fund, and into which went every penny of the gasoline tax, truly a users’ fee that apportions costs according to road use, and easy to collect without a huge bureaucracy or increasing motor vehicle exhaust. Revenue is totally dedicated to transportation improvements and operations.

Bill O’Neil was also the most decent human being to hold the governorship during my career. He came from humble roots, and never forgot them. Bill was a veteran, a tavern owner, devoted to his wife, Nikky, and enjoyed his vintage Thunderbird. He was uncomfortable in formal settings, but loved meeting people one-on-one. One of my special memories is his visit to a simple neighborhood bar near my house in Danbury, where he was happy swapping jokes and chatting with the locals. He also asked very little for himself. While in the legislature, even a Majority Leader of the Connecticut House of Representatives, Bill’s focus was on policy, budgeting, and helping others get their bills passed. Only once did he ask for a personal bill: 1978’s state song, “Yankee Doodle Dandy,” and even that was introduced at the request of his local fife and drum corps. His role model was Harry Truman, and the two were very much alike. He was quite content to retire to his home in East Hampton. He never missed the trappings of power, he never enriched himself, and he never felt any sense of entitlement simply because he had been lucky enough to rise to be the Governor of this state that he so loved.

Many thanks, Bill O’Neil. Godspeed.

Bob Godfrey

Deputy Speaker

Connecticut House of Representatives