William LaFortune (born August 23, 1957) is an American politician who served as the 37th Mayor of Tulsa, Oklahoma from 2002 to 2006 and is currently a district judge in Tulsa County. He was elected without opposition to a four-year term in 2014. He replaced former Judge Tom Gillert, who did not run for re-election, but retired from politics. LaFortune's grandfather, Joseph LaFortune, was an oil executive and a noted philanthropist in Tulsa. His uncle, Robert J. LaFortune, was mayor of Tulsa from 1970 to 1978. He attended Cascia Hall Preparatory School, the University of California, Santa Barbara, and the University of Tulsa College of Law. History in Tulsa Politics Bill LaFortune served as district attorney of Tulsa County, as a special judge for Tulsa County, and as Assistant Attorney General for the state of Oklahoma. Running as a Republican, he was elected mayor in 2002, but he was unsuccessful in his bid for re-election on April 5, 2006 when he lost to his Democratic opponent, former Oklahoma Secretary of Commerce and Tourism, Kathy Taylor. LaFortune's nephew, G. T. Bynum, ran for mayor of Tulsa in 2016 and was elected to begin the role that December. Mayor, City of Tulsa, 2002-2006 While a partner at the prestigious Tulsa law firm of Norman Wohlgemuth Chandler and Dowdell, Tulsa's longtime Mayor Susan Savage announced she would be retiring at the end of her current term, thereby creating a vacancy in the Mayor's office in 2002. LaFortune, with a long career of public service and community involvement, ran for the office against several other contenders. Running as a Republican, he won decisively in both the primary and general elections. Vision 2025 Despite the economic downturn, LaFortune was able to put together a county-wide coalition of elected officials, business leaders and everyday citizens to prepare a long overdue capital improvements plan. The result of this unprecedented effort was “Vision 2025”, a four-part $885 million ballot initiative which was passed overwhelmingly by Tulsa County voters in September 2003. LaFortune was the point person for the successful campaign. Over 34 job incentives and capital improvement projects were funded through Vision 2025, including significant new medical clinics at the University of Oklahoma-Tulsa and in Tulsa's under-served communities, a new engineering facility at Oklahoma State University's Tulsa Campus, a new administration building at Langston University's Tulsa Campus, books and updated technology for Tulsa's school children, and capital improvements