Ellsworth C. Wills

Ellsworth Clayton Wills^[1] (July 4, 1911 – June 13, 1973)^[2] was an American activist and politician who served as a member of the Washington House of Representatives from 1939 to 1941.^[3]

Ellsworth C. Wills
Wills c. 1939
Member of the Washington House of Representatives from the 34th district
In office January 9, 1939 – January 13, 1941
Preceded by	Multi-member district
Succeeded by	Multi-member district
Personal details
Born	(1911-07-04)July 4, 1911 Oregon, U.S.
Died	June 13, 1973(1973-06-13) (aged 61) Seattle, Washington, U.S.
Resting place	Willamette National Cemetery
Political party	Democratic
Other political affiliations	Communist (secretly)
Military service
Allegiance	United States
Branch/service	United States Navy Reserve
Years of service	c. 1941–1945 c. 1950–1953
Rank	Petty Officer Third Class
Battles/wars	World War II Korean War

Wills was elected as a Democrat with the support of the Washington Commonwealth Federation,^[4] but was secretly a member of the Communist Party, a fact which he admitted to during the Canwell Committee hearings in 1948. In turn, he named several other prominent state Democrats as secret Communists.^[5]

In his 1951 appraisal of the hearings, Yale Law professor Vern Countryman characterized the testimony of former party members like Wills as "questionable," highlighting that they often passed off personal opinions as "official knowledge."^[5] In her memoirs, Communist activist Hazel Wolf denounced those who testified as "stoolpigeons" and cast doubt on their "indelible... memory concerning microscopic events long gone."^[6]