ELWYN B. ROBINSON DEPARTMENT OF SPECIAL COLLECTIONS
CHESTER FRITZ LIBRARY
UNIVERSITY OF NORTH DAKOTA
GRAND FORKS, NORTH DAKOTA 58202
COLLECTION: OGL# 1027
DATES: 1973-1986 [Bulk Dates: April 1982 - March 1985]
SIZE: 5 linear feet
ACQUISITION: The William W. Roath, Jr. Papers were deposited in the Orin G. Libby Manuscript Collection by William W. Roath, Jr. on August 20, 1985 (Acc.# 85-1393).
ACCESS: Open for inspection under the rules and regulations of the Department of Special Collections.
William Wesley Roath, Jr. was born May 13, 1956, in Bozeman, Montana. Because his father was an Air Force careerist, Roath moved often while growing up. From 1981 through 1985, he attended UND. He graduated from UND in August 1985 with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Economics with minors in History and Political Science.
While a student, Roath was elected to the Grand Forks City Council from Ward I as a Democrat. His candidacy was supported by the Prairie Campaign for Economic Democracy. As a city councilman, Roath chaired the Ad Hoc Committee on Energy Research and the Mayor's Task Force on Nuclear Relocation Alternatives, was vice-chair of the Mayor's Task Force on Energy Preparedness, and was a member of the Public Service Committee. In November 1984, Roath campaigned to represent District 42 in North Dakota's House of Representatives, although he lost by eighty votes. When he graduated in August 1985, Roath resigned his seat on the Grand Forks City Council and took a job as Director of Employment Training for the Goodhue-Rice-Wabasha Citizens Action Council in Minnesota.
In 1987, Roath became the Director of the Wright County [Minnesota] Community Action Agency. A year later he was named Executive Director of Emotions Anonymous for Minnesota. In 1990, Roath became the Executive Director of the Minnesota Civil Liberties Union, the state's affiliate of the American Civil Liberties Union. During that same year, Roath served as a district manager for the Paul Wellstone campaign during his successful 1990 bid for the United States Senate seat from Minnesota. In July 1994, Roath began a position as coordinator of the North Dakota chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union.
The William W. Roath, Jr. Papers date from 1973-1986, although the bulk of the material dates from April 1982-March 1985. The collection has been divided into three series as follows:
Series I consists of a single folder of personal papers. (Box 1)
Series II, the bulk of the collection, consists of an alphabetical Grand Forks City Council Subject File. All subject headings have been retained and four additional headings (city merchants, disabled, hospital, and lots/buildings) were formed from documents found within the folder labeled "miscellaneous." Items within each subject have been arranged chronologically. Subject Files typically contain amendments, city ordinances, correspondence, proposals, reports, and resolutions related to the subject. Bound financial records have been incorporated into this series. Many budgets reflect monies requested for 1986. (Boxes 1-4)
Series III consists of Grand Forks City Council Policies and Procedures manuals. (Box 4) The William W. Roath, Jr. Papers are a valuable source of information about the actions of the Grand Forks City Council from April 1982 to March 1985. During that time, a chief concern before the Council was the future of the city's water system. Numerous records, including a regression analysis performed by Roath, are contained within Series II under "Water," "Water Rates," and "Water Rate Studies." City emergencies were also a primary concern for the Council. Files labeled "Flood Control," "Civil Preparedness," and "Emergency Preparedness" contain documents pertaining to floods, flood control (English Coulee Diversion), hazardous waste, and the Emergency Control Act. Importantly, Series II, the Subject File, also contains a substantial collection of City Council Proceedings from April 1982 to March 1985.
The vast majority of the documents in this collection relate to Roath's position on the Grand Forks City Council and date from April 1982, when he was first seated, to March 1985. While he retained his council seat until August 1985, this collection contains no documents for April, May, or August of his final year. A few records, mostly committee minutes, exist for June and July 1985. Researchers interested in Roath personally should see Box 1, Folder 1, "Personal Papers," and Box 2, Folder 5, "Constituent Services."
The records arrived in the Department of Special Collections in three large boxes. Most documents were arranged alphabetically in folders like a subject file. Little arrangement within each folder was apparent, however. Besides the folders, the boxes contained dozens of bound records, most of which pertained to financial aspects of folders within the subject file.
Two books were separated and added to the North Dakota Book Collection.
Box 1
Folder
SERIES I: PERSONAL
SERIES II: GRAND FORKS CITY COUNCIL SUBJECT FILES
Box 2
Folder
Box 3
Folder
Box 4
Folder
SERIES III - POLICIES AND PROCEDURES
The following books were separated and added to the North Dakota Book Collection.
Larson, James H., Ph.D. and Ernest Norman, MSW, MPH. Low Income Residents
of Grand Forks: Identification, Needs, and Services. UND: Social Science
Research Institute, n.d.
Call number: HV4046.G8 L37 1983
Pine, Carol. Life on the Line. Minneapolis: Northern States Power,
1975.
Call number: QC926.A14 P56 1975
Return to: Grand Forks History
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