Alan B. Williams (born March 22, 1975) is a
Democratic
Democrat, Democrats, or Democratic may refer to:
Politics
*A proponent of democracy, or democratic government; a form of government involving rule by the people.
*A member of a Democratic Party:
**Democratic Party (United States) (D)
**Democratic ...
politician from the U.S. state of Florida. He served in the
Florida House of Representatives
The Florida House of Representatives is the lower house of the Florida Legislature, the state legislature of the U.S. state of Florida, the Florida Senate being the upper house. Article III, Section 1 of the Constitution of Florida, adopted ...
from 2008 to 2016, representing a district based in
Gadsden County
Gadsden County is a county located in the panhandle of the U.S. state of Florida. As of the 2020 census, the population was 43,826. Its county seat is Quincy. Gadsden County is included in the Tallahassee, FL Metropolitan Statistical Area. Ga ...
and
Tallahassee in
Leon County. Williams is currently deputy assistant secretary of housing and urban development for congressional and intergovernmental relations.
History
Williams was born in
Tallahassee, and attended
Florida A&M University, where he graduated with a
Bachelor's degree in 1998, and a
Master of Business Administration in 2003. After graduation, he began working for
Sprint Nextel in sales, but quit to work as a community outreach aide for
John Marks John Marks may refer to:
* John E. Marks (born 1951), British poet
*John Marks (businessman) (1916–1982), business investor - refer Lend Lease Communities
*John Marks (mayor) (born 1947), mayor of Tallahassee, Florida
*John Marks (ice hockey) (bo ...
, the Mayor of
Tallahassee.
Florida House of Representatives
In 2008, following the inability of
State Representative
A state legislature is a legislative branch or body of a political subdivision in a federal system.
Two federations literally use the term "state legislature":
* The legislative branches of each of the fifty state governments of the United Sta ...
Curtis Richardson
Curtis B. Richardson (born October 8, 1956, Jacksonville, Florida) is an American elected official, who has been a member of the Tallahassee City Commission since 2014. He previously served for eight years in the Florida House of Representatives, ...
to seek re-election due to term limits, Williams ran to succeed him in the
Democratic
Democrat, Democrats, or Democratic may refer to:
Politics
*A proponent of democracy, or democratic government; a form of government involving rule by the people.
*A member of a Democratic Party:
**Democratic Party (United States) (D)
**Democratic ...
primary in the 8th District, which included northern
Gadsden County
Gadsden County is a county located in the panhandle of the U.S. state of Florida. As of the 2020 census, the population was 43,826. Its county seat is Quincy. Gadsden County is included in the Tallahassee, FL Metropolitan Statistical Area. Ga ...
and parts of
Tallahassee in
Leon County. He defeated Carolyn Roberson, Rudy Maloy, Sean Shaw, Anthony Viegbesie, Hubert R. Brown and Rodney S. Moore in a crowded primary with 41% of the vote. Williams encountered
independent candidate Robert Maddox in a landslide, winning 84% of the vote. He was re-elected without opposition in 2010.
Following the reconfiguration of Florida House districts, the redrawn 8th District included most of the territory that Williams had previously represented, but now included all of
Gadsden County
Gadsden County is a county located in the panhandle of the U.S. state of Florida. As of the 2020 census, the population was 43,826. Its county seat is Quincy. Gadsden County is included in the Tallahassee, FL Metropolitan Statistical Area. Ga ...
in exchange for fewer sections of
Leon County. He was unopposed in both the
Democratic
Democrat, Democrats, or Democratic may refer to:
Politics
*A proponent of democracy, or democratic government; a form of government involving rule by the people.
*A member of a Democratic Party:
**Democratic Party (United States) (D)
**Democratic ...
primary and the general election, and won his third term entirely uncontested.
While serving in the legislature, Williams strongly supported legislation that would expand early voting opportunities, despite viewing it as a less-than-perfect bill, declaring "Let's make this state we are proud of from the elections standpoint. We want to make sure no one is standing in line at three in the morning when the president has already been announced the winner." Additionally, following the passage of the budget, which gave state workers a raise from $1,000 to $1,400, Williams praised it as benefitting his constituents, noting, "When you think about North Florida, state government is the life blood of our area. A lot of individuals work at a number of different facilities, whether it's in corrections or here in Tallahassee." Additionally, Williams attempted to serve in a leadership role for the 2014–2016 term, when
State Representative
A state legislature is a legislative branch or body of a political subdivision in a federal system.
Two federations literally use the term "state legislature":
* The legislative branches of each of the fifty state governments of the United Sta ...
Darryl Rouson, who was set to become the
Florida House Democrats' leader for the 2014-2016 session, was ousted by the caucus. Williams ran to be the floor leader in Rouson's place, but was defeated by
Mark Pafford in a 29–12 vote.
In 2014, Williams was challenged in the Democratic primary by Dianne Williams-Cox, a retired state employee. Williams-Cox argued that he had used his time in office to advance his own interests rather than those of his constituents, while he criticized Williams-Cox for lacking the requisite experience to serve in the legislature. Williams campaigned on his support for giving state employees raises and for increasing access to online voter registration.
He ended up defeating Williams-Cox handily, winning 68% of the vote to her 32%. In the general election, Williams faced only write-in opposition, and won his fourth and final term in the legislature with nearly 100% of the vote.
Term limited out of the 8th District House seat in 2016, Williams ran for Leon County Supervisor of Elections against Mark S. Earley, Leon County Voting Systems Manager, and Tena Pate, the resigning chair of the Florida Commission on Offender Review, following the retirement of Ion Sancho. Pate ran on her experience as the Chair of the Florida Commission on Offender Review. Earley campaigned on his 28 years of technical and leadership expertise in the field, and numerous endorsements from community leaders and local and state politicians, including the retiring Supervisor Ion Sancho. Williams campaigned on his record of community outreach in Tallahassee and actions while serving in the House, and argued that Ion Sancho should not have been allowed to endorse in the race given his position. Williams claimed that Earley had overstepped his role as Leon County Voting Systems Manager during the election cycle, and that he had known the results of the primary before their public release, in his words, a "felony". It was later revealed that this had been purported to him by Tena Pate, who lost in the primary, though she gave no reasoning behind her assertion. Williams lost the race, receiving 45.69% of the vote to Mark Earley's 54.31%.
References
External links
Florida House of Representatives - Alan WilliamsWilliams for State House
{{DEFAULTSORT:Williams, Alan
1975 births
Living people
Democratic Party members of the Florida House of Representatives
African-American state legislators in Florida
Florida A&M University alumni
2012 United States presidential electors
21st-century African-American politicians
21st-century American politicians
20th-century African-American people