William T. Bagley

WILLIAM T. BAGLEY

Bill Bagley (born William T. Baglietto), the first chairperson of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), passed away after a happy and exceptional life. Born in San Francisco, in 1928, his family went bankrupt soon thereafter and had to move to what had been a vacation cabin in rural Marin County (Woodacre). Bill persevered, working his way through high school, college and law school with the Marin County Fire Department. He graduated from U.C. Berkeley in 1949, as a Phi Beta Kappa and the valedictorian, and from Berkeley School of Law in 1952, serving on the California Law Review. In 2002, he proudly received the UC Berkeley Alumni of the Year award.

For 63 years, he practiced law, 35 years of which were as a partner with the national law firm Nossaman, LLP. He excelled at business, land use, water, transportation, public utility and public policy law. A notable legal achievement included defending the First Amendment before the United States Supreme Court.

Part time public service occupied his early career, serving in the California State Assembly from 1960 to1974, representing Marin and Sonoma. Bill was a liberal republican, led all democratic members on the tabulated NAACP voting record, and traveled with Governor Nelson Rockefeller in the 1964 presidential primary. He authored transparency laws such as the Public Records Act and Bagley-Keene Open Meeting Act and advocated for civil rights. His published work “California's Golden Years: When Government Worked and Why” reflected on this era of political history.

In 1974, the passage of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission Act vastly expanded what was a lightly regulated Chicago futures market and created a worldwide industry. The Ford-Rockefeller administration appointed Bill to chair the CFTC in Washington, DC. He spoke in Europe and Tokyo on behalf of this burgeoning new industry. He also served as the U.S. Ambassador to the U.N. Human Rights Commission and on the Futures Industry Association Board of Directors, California Transportation Commission (Chair), Public Utilities Commission, and the University of California Board of Regents. 

Bill is survived by his wife of 60 years Diane, children Lynn, Bill Jr., Walter, Shana, and Tracy (Chris) and his beloved grandchildren Nicholas, Julian, Nathaniel, Grant, and Layli.

He asked for no services but requested that memorial donations be made to the Bagley Minority Scholarship  – The Achievement Awards Program, Cal Alumni Association, Alumni House, Berkeley, CA 94720 (development@alumni.berkeley.edu ).

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