Definition of "ward-heeler" [ward-heeler]

• A politician who belongs to a small clique that controls a political party for private rather than public ends (noun)

WordNet. Princeton University. 2010.

• ""It's an anachronism dating back to the old ward-heeler, patronage-based operation.""
• "Forty-seven years and no real employment record except as a ward-heeler in Cook County."
• "Not if one wishes to be considered a statesman instead of a small-time ward-heeler."