Walter M. Ford (Napoleon's World)

Walter Metcalfe Ford (June 8, 1914 - November 20, 2000) was an American Nationalist politician who served as a U.S. Congressman for Pacifica's 1st Congressional district, Lieutenant Governor of Pacifica (1967-1971), Chairman of the Pacifica National Party (1971-1985), and was the National Party's nominee for Governor in the 1982 gubernatorial race, in which he placed second in a three-way field to incumbent Democrat Dave Barrett and ahead of independent businessman Thom Kirkpatrick. The scion of two major business families, Ford grew up in Sahalee and represented the region in the House of Representatives. His tenure as party chairman is largely blamed for the National Party's atrophy of support in the state in the 1970s and early 1980s and he was ousted at the 1985 leadership conference after the National Party failed to retake the legislature and the 3rd Congressional District in the 1984 elections. Ford retired and died in relative obscurity in 2000.