William Royer

William Howard Royer (April 11, 1920 – April 8, 2013) was an American politician and a member of the Republican Party. He served as a U.S. Representative from the 11th Congressional District of California from 1979 until 1981.

Royer was born April 11, 1920, in Jerome, Idaho. His family moved to Redwood City, California. In 1938, Royer graduated from Sequoia High School.

He earned his B.S. at Santa Clara University in 1941 and did graduate work at what is now Oklahoma State University.

From 1943 to 1945, Royer served in the United States Army Air Forces. Afterward, Royer became a realtor and started Royer Realty Company.

Royer's political career began in 1950 when he was elected to the Redwood City Council, on which he would serve until 1966. From 1956 to 1960, Royer also served as mayor of Redwood City.

In 1972, Royer was elected to the San Mateo County Board of Supervisors, and was re-elected in 1976.

In 1979, Royer won a special election to succeed the late congressman Leo J. Ryan (D-San Mateo), winning with 57% of the vote. He finished the remainder of Ryan's term. In the 1980 election, Royer was defeated in his bid for a full term, losing 43.3%-46.4% to Democratic challenger Tom Lantos. Royer ran against Lantos again in 1982, losing 40%-57%.

Royer was married to the former Shirley Wilson. They had two sons, Dennis and Peter. Shirley Royer died in 2010; William Royer died April 8, 2013, in his Redwood City home of natural causes. He died three days before his 93rd birthday.

Royer's nephew Jim Hartnett is also a politician, serving as mayor of Redwood City.