Bill Dickinson; US lawmaker from Ala. backed strong defense; at 82

BILL DICKINSON (ap/file 1990)

MONTGOMERY, Ala. - Former US representative Bill Dickinson, a Democrat-turned-Republican who championed a strong defense and helped make Alabama a two-party state, died Monday at his Montgomery home. He was 82.

Longtime aide Walter Bamberg said Mr. Dickinson, who served in the House from 1965 to 1993, had been suffering from colon cancer.

Mr. Dickinson - a former judge in city, juvenile, and circuit courts in Opelika - was one of several Democrats recruited in 1964 to run as Republicans for Congress in a state that had been solidly Democratic for a century.

Senator Barry Goldwater, the Republican presidential nominee, lost in a landslide to President Lyndon Johnson but carried five Southern states, plus his home state of Arizona.

His victory in Alabama helped Republicans win five of Alabama's eight seats in the US House of Representatives.

Former chief of staff Clay Swanzy recalled that Mr. Dickinson had to run ads educating voters about how to split their ballots between Democrats and Republicans. Alabama voters had long been known for voting the straight Democratic ticket.

"First for Bill, and then as you will," the ads said.

Mr. Dickinson served on the House Armed Services Committee, where he eventually became the ranking Republican member.

On the committee, Mr. Dickinson was an ardent defender of military spending through the Vietnam War and protected military bases that were an important part of Alabama's economy.

He also was a key supporter of President Reagan's defense buildup in the 1980s.

"I used to tease him and tell him that he never met a weapons system he didn't like," Swanzy said. "The reality was he did oppose some, but he was best known in Congress for his work on military matters."

His successor, Republican Representative Terry Everett, recalled that Mr. Dickinson was President Reagan's point man on the Armed Services Committee.

Mr. Dickinson won reelection every two years until he retired in 1992.

Mr. Dickinson leaves his wife, Barbara, three sons, Christopher of Seoul, Michael of Munich, and William of Montgomery; and a daughter, Tara Dickinson Sherer of Humble, Texas.