Civil rights advocate laid to rest in Mattituck
Political consultant and civil rights activist William Lynch Jr. may have “dined with presidents,” but friends and relatives say he never forgot his North Fork roots. So while his renowned political prowess and laid-back style of dress combined to earn him the nickname “Rumpled Genius,” around here he was always known as Bill — or “Butch” if you asked his former Mattituck High School classmates.
Mr. Lynch, a Mattituck native, died Aug. 9 from complications of kidney disease. He was 72.
President Bill Clinton and other dignitaries spoke at his funeral Aug. 15 in New York City. Then, on Aug. 16, some three dozen mourners gathered at New Bethany Cemetery in Mattituck, where they held hands and prayed for the man they remembered as having a heart of gold.
“He dined with presidents but his heart never left Mattituck,” said Sally Goode-Carragher. “He always fought for the little guy and never forgot his humble roots.”
In 2008, Mr. Lynch told The Suffolk Times his youth on the North Fork “were the great years for me.
“I’ll never forget them,” he said.
Friends said Mr. Lynch maintained ties to his hometown throughout his life.
LeRoy Heyliger, a family friend, said Mr. Lynch’s fond memories of home kept him coming back and keeping in touch.
He also recalled running into Mr. Lynch around Christmas 1965, while the men were serving in different divisions of the Air Force.
“Our planes were in for service, and I heard a voice call my name,” Mr. Heyliger recalled. “It was Bill. He was back from overseas and said that he was discharged.”
Soon after that, Mr. Lynch moved to Harlem to work for a job training and policy institute at the Graduate Center of the City University of New York.
And so began his venture into politics.
In 1975, Mr. Lynch successfully managed Diane Lacey’s campaign for Democratic district leader in Central Harlem and the Upper West Side. He went on to work on presidential campaigns for Senator Edward M. Kennedy in 1980 and the Rev. Jesse Jackson in 1984 and 1988. He also worked on the campaigns of Congressman Major Owens of Brooklyn in 1982 and state Senator David A. Paterson in 1985. Later, in 2008, he worked as a consultant for Mr. Paterson, who was taking over as governor for the outgoing Eliot Spitzer.
From 1985 to 1989, Mr. Lynch served as chief of staff to then-Manhattan Borough President David Dinkins and was instrumental in Mr. Dinkins’ victorious mayoral campaign in 1989. It was during this time he earned the nickname Rumpled Genius. He served during the Dinkins administration as deputy mayor for intergovernmental relations and maintained a longstanding political relationship with Mr. Dinkins.
“He was really a warrior for all races and colors,” Hazel Dukes, president of the NAACP New York State Conference, said at Friday’s services in Mattituck. “He was instrumental in the success of that campaign.”
Among the most important moments in his career was working with former South African president and anti-apartheid crusader Nelson Mandela, Mr. Lynch said in the 2008 Suffolk Times interview. After Mr. Mandela was released from prison in 1991, Mr. Lynch helped him campaign for political reform in South Africa.
“He was an unbelievable candidate and human being,” Mr. Lynch had said of Mr. Mandela.
Mr. Lynch founded his own political consulting firm, Bill Lynch Associates (LLC) in 1999, working on numerous campaigns in the New York area. He also served as a co-chair of John Kerry’s 2004 presidential campaign. At the time of his death, he was working as a consultant for the mayoral campaign of city Comptroller John Liu. Mr. Lynch’s motto, “Make it happen,” stayed with him throughout his life.
Last Thursday’s funeral, held at Riverside Church in Manhattan, drew more than 1,000 mourners and included eulogies by President Clinton, former U.S. senator and secretary of state Hillary Clinton and Mayor Dinkins, among others, attendees said.
“I have to say, it was a beautiful tribute to a man who was proud of his humble roots on the North Fork, who allowed others to take credit for his genius and stand in the limelight,” said John Vahey of Mattituck, who attended the service as a guest of one of Mr. Lynch’s former colleagues. “I don’t know how anyone could have attended that moving, beautiful service without being inspired to go out and make the world a better place.”
