Constance Hess Williams (born June 27, 1944) is an American politician who served as a Democratic member of the

Pennsylvania State Senate The Pennsylvania State Senate is the upper house of the Pennsylvania General Assembly, the Pennsylvania state legislature. The State Senate meets in the State Capitol building in Harrisburg. Senators are elected for four year terms, staggered ev ...

for the 17th District, from 2001 to 2009. She previously represented the 149th district in the

Pennsylvania House of Representatives The Pennsylvania House of Representatives is the lower house of the bicameral Pennsylvania General Assembly, the legislature of the U.S. state of Pennsylvania. There are 203 members, elected for two-year terms from single member districts. It ...

from 1997 to 2001. On June 23, 2021, President Joe Biden nominated her for member of the National Council on the Arts, an advisory board to the chairperson of the

National Endowment for the Arts The National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) is an independent agency of the United States federal government that offers support and funding for projects exhibiting artistic excellence. It was created in 1965 as an independent agency of the federal ...

Early life and education

Williams was born in Long Branch,

New Jersey New Jersey is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York; on the east, southeast, and south by the Atlantic Ocean; on the west by the Delaware ...

, to

Leon Hess Leon Hess (March 14, 1914 – May 7, 1999) was an American businessman, the founder of the Hess Corporation and the owner of the New York Jets. Hess built an oil terminal in New Jersey after the Great Depression, building his first refinery i ...

and Norma Wilentz. Her father was the founder of the

Hess Corporation Hess Corporation (formerly Amerada Hess Corporation) is an American global independent energy company involved in the exploration and production of crude oil and natural gas. It was formed by the merger of Hess Oil and Chemical and Amerada Petrol ...

and the owner of the

New York Jets The New York Jets are a professional American football team based in the New York metropolitan area. The Jets compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) East division. The J ...

; her mother was the daughter of

David T. Wilentz David Theodore Wilentz (December 21, 1894 – July 6, 1988) was the Attorney General of New Jersey from 1934 to 1944. In 1935 he successfully prosecuted Bruno Hauptmann in the Lindbergh kidnapping trial. He was the father of Robert Wilentz, Ch ...

, who served as

New Jersey Attorney General The attorney general of New Jersey is a member of the executive cabinet of the state and oversees the New Jersey Department of Law and Public Safety, Department of Law and Public Safety. The office is appointed by the governor of New Jersey, confir ...

(1934–1944) and successfully prosecuted

Bruno Hauptmann Bruno Richard Hauptmann (November 26, 1899 – April 3, 1936) was a German-born carpenter who was convicted of the abduction and murder of the 20-month-old son of aviator Charles Lindbergh and his wife Anne Morrow Lindbergh. The Lindbergh kidnap ...

in the

Lindbergh kidnapping On March 1, 1932, Charles Augustus Lindbergh Jr. (born June 22, 1930), the 20-month-old son of aviators Charles Lindbergh and Anne Morrow Lindbergh, was abducted from his crib in the upper floor of the Lindberghs' home, Highfields (Amwell and Ho ...

trial, and the niece of

Robert Wilentz Robert Nathan Wilentz (February 17, 1927 – July 23, 1996) was Chief Justice of the New Jersey Supreme Court from 1979 to 1996, making him the longest-serving Chief Justice since the Supreme Court became New Jersey's highest court in 1948. Ear ...

, who served as Chief Justice of the

New Jersey Supreme Court The Supreme Court of New Jersey is the highest court in the U.S. state of New Jersey. In its current form, the Supreme Court of New Jersey is the final judicial authority on all cases in the state court system, including cases challenging the ...

(1979–1996). The oldest of three children, she is the sister of

John B. Hess John Barnett Hess (born April 5, 1954)"Profile: John Hess"

Rutgers Preparatory School Rutgers Preparatory School (also known as Rutgers Prep or RPS) is a private, coeducational, college preparatory day school established in 1766. The school educates students in pre-kindergarten through twelfth grade, located on a campus along ...

in 1962, and then studied at

Barnard College Barnard College of Columbia University is a private women's liberal arts college in the borough of Manhattan in New York City. It was founded in 1889 by a group of women led by young student activist Annie Nathan Meyer, who petitioned Columbia ...

, where she received a

Bachelor of Arts Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four years ...

degree in English in 1966. Williams received a

Master of Business Administration A Master of Business Administration (MBA; also Master's in Business Administration) is a postgraduate degree focused on business administration. The core courses in an MBA program cover various areas of business administration such as accounti ...

degree from the

Wharton School of Business The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania ( ; also known as Wharton Business School, the Wharton School, Penn Wharton, and Wharton) is the business school of the University of Pennsylvania, a private Ivy League research university in ...

in 1980.

Career

She worked as a small business consultant and a staffer for Congresswoman

Marjorie Margolies Marjorie Margolies (; formerly Margolies-Mezvinsky; born June 21, 1942) is a fellow at the University of Pennsylvania Fels Institute of Government, an adjunct faculty member at the University of Pennsylvania, and a women's rights activist. She ...

. She also became active in local politics, serving as chairwoman of the Democratic committee of

Lower Merion Lower Merion Township is a township in Montgomery County, Pennsylvania. It is part of the Philadelphia Main Line. The township's name originates with the county of Merioneth in north Wales. Merioneth is an English-language transcription of the W ...

and Narberth.

State representative

In her first run for public office, Williams successfully ran for the

from the 149th District. The district covered parts of Montgomery County, including part of Lower Merion, Upper Merion Township, and

West Conshohocken West Conshohocken is a borough in Montgomery County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 1,320 at the 2010 census. Its sister community is Conshohocken, located across the Schuylkill River. Montgomery County's seat, Norristown, is lo ...

. She had decided to run for office after her daughters graduated from high school. In the Democratic primary, Williams defeated Angelo Faragalli, a former

Republican Republican can refer to: Political ideology * An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law. ** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...

who previously ran for the seat in 1994. In the general election, she faced freshman Republican incumbent Colleen Sheehan, whose opposition to

abortion Abortion is the termination of a pregnancy by removal or expulsion of an embryo or fetus. An abortion that occurs without intervention is known as a miscarriage or "spontaneous abortion"; these occur in approximately 30% to 40% of pregn ...

and support of

school voucher A school voucher, also called an education voucher in a voucher system, is a certificate of government funding for students at schools chosen by themselves or their parents. Funding is usually for a particular year, term, or semester. In some cou ...

s were seen as too conservative for the district. Williams narrowly defeated Sheehan in November by a margin of 506 votes, becoming the first Democrat to ever represent the district. During her tenure in the House, Williams founded and co-chaired the Children's Caucus, and introduced legislation to give businesses tax credits for donating services or equipment to libraries. She also advocated for increased education spending, and opposed

gun control Gun control, or firearms regulation, is the set of laws or policies that regulate the manufacture, sale, transfer, possession, modification, or use of firearms by civilians. Most countries have a restrictive firearm guiding policy, with on ...

legislation that was written by the

National Rifle Association The National Rifle Association of America (NRA) is a gun rights advocacy group based in the United States. Founded in 1871 to advance rifle marksmanship, the modern NRA has become a prominent Gun politics in the United States, gun rights ...

. In 1998, Williams was re-elected to a second term after defeating Mary Wright, a former Lower Merion school board member, by a margin of 58%–42%. During the 2000 presidential primaries, she served as co-chair of

U.S. Senator The United States Senate is the upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the House of Representatives being the lower chamber. Together they compose the national bicameral legislature of the United States. The composition and powe ...

Bill Bradley William Warren Bradley (born July 28, 1943) is an American politician and former professional basketball player. He served three terms as a Democratic U.S. senator from New Jersey (1979–1997). He ran for the Democratic Party's nomination f ...

's campaign in Pennsylvania. In 2000, she defeated Republican Lynne Lechter for a third term, receiving 62% of the vote.

State senator

In 2001, longtime Republican incumbent

Richard Tilghman Richard Albert Tilghman (March 8, 1920 – February 23, 2017) was a politician who served as a Republican member of the Pennsylvania State Senate for the 17th district from 1969 to 2001. He also served in the Pennsylvania House of Representa ...

resigned from the

, where he had represented the 17th District for thirty-two years. The district, covering parts of Montgomery and

Delaware Counties The U.S. state of Delaware is divided into three counties, the fewest of any state in the United States: New Castle, Kent and Sussex. The origin of the county boundaries goes back to their former court districts. The powers of the counties' legi ...

, is located in the

Philadelphia Main Line The Philadelphia Main Line, known simply as the Main Line, is an informally delineated historical and social region of suburban Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Lying along the former Pennsylvania Railroad's once prestigious Main Line, it runs no ...

. Williams subsequently ran in the special election to fill the remainder of Tilghman's term, facing fellow State Representative Lita Indzel Cohen. During the campaign, Williams ran on her moderate reputation and bipartisan record; she even received several Republican endorsements. She eventually defeated Cohen by a margin of 52%–48%. Williams was sworn in on December 3, 2001. In 2004, she won re-election to a full term after defeating Republican Ted Barry, a Montgomery County assistant district attorney, by 64%–35%. She became known for her work on behalf of children, families, and the environment, and authored a law that allows women to publicly breastfeed their children. During her tenure in the Senate, she served as Senate Democratic Caucus administrator,

ranking member In United States politics, a ranking member is the most senior member of a congressional or state legislative committee from the minority party. On many committees the ranking minority member, along with the Chair, serve as ''ex officio'' members ...

of Communications and Technology Committee, co-chair of the Senate Life Sciences and Biotechnology Caucus, and a member of the Governor's Advisory Committee on Minority and Women Business Opportunities. Williams announced that she would not be a candidate for re-election in 2008. In 2010, ''Politics Magazine'' named her one of the most influential Democrats in Pennsylvania, noting the value of receiving her endorsement.

Philanthropy and community engagement

With a focus on education, the arts, and economic development across regional organizations, Williams is widely known for her community involvement. As chair of the board of the

Philadelphia Museum of Art The Philadelphia Museum of Art (PMoA) is an art museum originally chartered in 1876 for the Centennial Exposition in Philadelphia. The main museum building was completed in 1928 on Fairmount, a hill located at the northwest end of the Benjamin Fr ...

, she played a key role in developing a new institutional strategic plan and was a guiding force in restoring the

Rodin Museum The Rodin Museum is an art museum located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania that contains one of the largest collections of sculptor Auguste Rodin's works outside Paris. Opened in 1929, the museum is administered by the Philadelphia Museum of Art. T ...

in 2012 and 2013. Her leadership resulted in the completion of the SF Art Handling Facility, the renovation and reinstallation of the galleries dedicated to South Asian art and the retaining of architect

Frank Gehry Frank Owen Gehry, , FAIA (; ; born ) is a Canadian-born American architect and designer. A number of his buildings, including his private residence in Santa Monica, California, have become world-renowned attractions. His works are considered ...

to undertake the expansion and renovation of the museum's main building. She is vice-president and director of the Hess Foundation, board member and former chair of Steppingstones Scholars, and board member of the

National Museum of American Jewish History The Weitzman National Museum of American Jewish History (The Weitzman) is a Smithsonian-affiliated museum at 101 South Independence Mall East (S. 5th Street) at Market Street in Center City Philadelphia. It was founded in 1976. History With ...

Personal life

She is married to Sankey V. Williams, who is the Sol Katz Professor of Medicine at the

University of Pennsylvania The University of Pennsylvania (also known as Penn or UPenn) is a private research university in Philadelphia. It is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and is ranked among the highest-regarded universitie ...

and the chief of general internal medicine at the

university hospital A university hospital is an institution which combines the services of a hospital with the education of medical students and with medical research. These hospitals are typically affiliated with a medical school or university. The following is a l ...

; the couple has two daughters.

References

External links

Pennsylvania Senate - Connie Williams
official PA Senate website (archived) * official Party website (archived)
Biographyvoting record
an
interest group ratings
at

Project Vote Smart Vote Smart, formerly called Project Vote Smart, is a non-profit, non-partisan research organization that collects and distributes information on candidates for public office in the United States. It covers candidates and elected officials in si ...

*''Follow the Money'' - Connie Williams
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campaign contributions * {{DEFAULTSORT:Williams, Constance H. 1944 births 20th-century American politicians 21st-century American politicians Living people American people of Latvian-Jewish descent American people of Lithuanian-Jewish descent Jewish American state legislators in Pennsylvania Barnard College alumni Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania alumni Democratic Party Pennsylvania state senators Democratic Party members of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives Hess family Politicians from Long Branch, New Jersey Rutgers Preparatory School alumni 2020 United States presidential electors