William James Sutton (September 29, 1865 – December 22, 1940) was an American politician in the state of Washington.

[5] Sutton was first elected to the Washington State Senate in 1913, where he pushed through an appropriation of $300,000 to the Normal School over the veto of Governor Ernest Lister.

The appropriation was used to replace the administration building lost in the 1912 fire with what would become the prominent Showalter Hall on the campus of Eastern Washington University.

[4] Other accomplishments as a politician include saving the State College from being demoted to a trade school.

[4] After retiring from the Senate, he continued to farm and act as a prominent citizen of Cheney until his death in December 1940.