William J. Cole III (died April 11, 2003) was an American politician and lawyer who served as the State Treasurer of Mississippi from 1980 to 1988.
[3] In January 1979 Cole convinced Winter to pay for his name to be added to a poll being conducted to gauge Mississippians' attitudes towards public figures.
Cole reported that the results were favorable to Winter, which in part convinced him to mount a successful gubernatorial campaign that year.
[7] In 1988 Governor Ray Mabus appointed him chairman of the State Economic Development Task Force.
Cole died on April 11, 2003, at Mississippi Baptist Medical Center in Jackson, succumbing to complications following a heart attack.