Connerly, Ward(ell) (1939– )

US civil servant and civil-rights campaigner. In 1996 Connerly served as chair of the California Civil Rights Initiative, which campaigned for the passage of Proposition 209 to eliminate racial preferences. He founded the American Civil Rights Institute (ACRI) in 1997 – a new, national civil-rights organization. As an advocate of equal opportunity and against preferences, set-asides, and quotas, Connerly's views have provoked much controversy and have been well documented by the international, national, and Californian press.

Connerly earned his bachelor's degree in political theory from California State University, Sacramento. He was chief deputy director of the California State Department of Housing and Community Development 1971–73 and prior to that worked for the Assembly Housing Committee. Connerly currently serves as chair of the ACRI, is on the board of the California Chamber of Commerce, and is chair of the California Governor's Foundation.