William Ridley Spaulding (June 15, 1924 – November 1, 2021) was an American politician during the 1970s and 1980s who, running as a Democrat, was elected one of the original members of the Council of the District of Columbia in the aftermath of Washington, D.C. gaining home rule in 1973.
A native of North Carolina, William Spaulding attended Howard University, a private, historically black educational institution in Washington, DC, from which he graduated in 1947 with a B.S.
[1] In 1955, while teaching at Howard, he married Dolores Hinton, a music education major at the university, and they became the parents of three daughters, Deirdre, Michele and Angelyn.
[2] Following the congressional passage of District of Columbia home rule, he left his position with the NSA and campaigned for a seat on the D.C. Council, taking office in 1975.
Having represented Ward 5 on the council from 1975 to 1987,[3] he was defeated by Harry Thomas Sr. in the 1986 Democratic primary,[4] but continued his government career in the position of director of Department of Administrative Services for the District of Columbia Court System.