Nicole Annette Williams (born September 23, 1977) is an American attorney and politician serving as a Democratic member of the

Maryland House of Delegates The Maryland House of Delegates is the lower house of the legislature of the State of Maryland. It consists of 141 delegates elected from 47 districts. The House of Delegates Chamber is in the Maryland State House on State Circle in Annapolis, ...

representing

District 22 District 22 may refer to: * District 22 (Chile) * District 22 (Tehran) * Texas Senate, District 22 * Florida's 22nd congressional district * Texas's 22nd congressional district * New York's 22nd congressional district * California's 22nd congressio ...

, which represents a portion of

Prince George's County, Maryland ) , demonym = Prince Georgian , ZIP codes = 20607–20774 , area codes = 240, 301 , founded date = April 23 , founded year = 1696 , named for = Prince George of Denmark , leader_title = Executive , leader_name = Angela D. Alsobroo ...

Early life and career

Williams was born on September 23, 1977, in

Washington, D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...

She attended the

University of Pittsburgh The University of Pittsburgh (Pitt) is a public state-related research university in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The university is composed of 17 undergraduate and graduate schools and colleges at its urban Pittsburgh campus, home to the universit ...

, where she earned a B.A. degree in history and communications in 1999, and the University of Pittsburgh School of Law, where she earned a J.D. degree in 2002. She was admitted into the

Maryland Bar The Maryland State Bar Association (MSBA) is a voluntary bar association for the state of Maryland. The association pursues the following mission: "to effectively represent Maryland’s lawyers, to provide member services, and to promote profes ...

in 2002, the District of Columbia Bar in 2005, and the

Virginia State Bar The Virginia State Bar (VSB) is the administrative agency of the Supreme Court of Virginia created to regulate, improve and advance the legal profession in Virginia. Membership in good standing in the VSB is mandatory for attorneys wishing to pr ...

in 2015. After graduating, Williams worked as an attorney for several law firms, including Ober, Kaler, Grimes & Shriver, Hileman & Williams, and Rees Broome. Williams got involved with politics in 2010 when she filed to run for the Maryland House of Delegates in District 23A. In 2012, she successfully ran for Delegate to the

Democratic National Convention The Democratic National Convention (DNC) is a series of presidential nominating conventions held every four years since 1832 by the United States Democratic Party. They have been administered by the Democratic National Committee since the 1852 ...

, representing

Barack Obama Barack Hussein Obama II ( ; born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who served as the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, Obama was the first African-American president of the U ...

. In 2014, Williams graduated from a training course hosted by Emerge Maryland, an organization created to prepare potential female Democratic candidates for public office, and successfully ran for the Prince George's County Democratic Central Committee, representing District 22 At Large. In September 2017, she again announced her candidacy for the House of Delegates in District 22. She came in fourth place in a field of five candidates, receiving 13.8 percent of the vote. In December 2018, Williams was elected to be the 3rd Vice Chair of the

Maryland Democratic Party The Maryland Democratic Party is the affiliate of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party in the state of Maryland, headquartered in Annapolis, Maryland, Annapolis. The current state party chair is Yvette Lewis. It is currently the ...

. In October 2019, Delegate

Tawanna P. Gaines Tawanna Phyllis Gaines (February 1, 1952 – November 12, 2022) was an American politician who represented District 22 in the Maryland House of Delegates from December 2001 to October 2019. She resigned in the face of federal corruption charges a ...

resigned from the Maryland House of Delegates after being indicted on

wire fraud Mail fraud and wire fraud are terms used in the United States to describe the use of a physical or electronic mail system to fraud, defraud another, and are Federal crime in the United States, federal crimes there. Jurisdiction is claimed by the ...

charges. Following speculation, Williams applied to fill the vacancy left by the former Delegate. Her candidacy was endorsed by state Senator

Paul G. Pinsky Paul G. Pinsky (born March 5, 1950) is an American educator, politician from Maryland. A member of the Democratic Party, he is currently the Director of the Maryland Energy Administration. He was previously a member of the Maryland Senate, repre ...

and Delegates Anne Healey and Alonzo T. Washington, and the central committee recommend Williams to Governor

Larry Hogan Lawrence Joseph Hogan Jr. (born May 25, 1956) is an American politician and businessman serving as the 62nd governor of Maryland since 2015. A moderate member of the Republican Party, he was secretary of appointments under Maryland governor Bo ...

to fill the vacant seat. Since 2019, Williams has served on the Board of Directors for Emerge Maryland.

In the legislature

After the resignation of Delegate

, the Prince George's County Democratic Central Committee recommended Williams to the Governor to fill the vacant seat. Governor Hogan appointed Williams on November 15, 2019. Williams was sworn in as a Delegate on December 6, 2019, and assigned to the House Judiciary committee. In 2020, Williams ran as a delegate to the

2020 Democratic National Convention The 2020 Democratic National Convention was a presidential nominating convention that was held from August 17 to 20, 2020, at the Wisconsin Center in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, and virtually across the United States. At the convention, delegates of ...

, representing

Elizabeth Warren Elizabeth Ann Warren ( née Herring; born June 22, 1949) is an American politician and former law professor who is the senior United States senator from Massachusetts, serving since 2013. A member of the Democratic Party and regarded as a ...

. She was an at-large delegate to the

2024 Democratic National Convention The 2024 Democratic National Convention is an upcoming event in which delegates of the United States Democratic Party will choose the party's nominees for president and vice president for the 2024 United States presidential election. Site sele ...

, pledged to Kamala Harris.

Political positions

Abortion

In January 2022, Williams attended a pro-choice rally at Lawyers Mall in

Annapolis, Maryland Annapolis ( ) is the capital city of the U.S. state of Maryland and the county seat of, and only incorporated city in, Anne Arundel County. Situated on the Chesapeake Bay at the mouth of the Severn River, south of Baltimore and about east o ...

. During the 2022 legislative session, Williams introduced legislation that would establish that civil or criminal charges can't be pursued against people who experience

miscarriage Miscarriage, also known in medical terms as a spontaneous abortion and pregnancy loss, is the death of an embryo or fetus before it is able to survive independently. Miscarriage before 6 weeks of gestation is defined by ESHRE as biochemical lo ...

stillbirth Stillbirth is typically defined as fetal death at or after 20 or 28 weeks of pregnancy, depending on the source. It results in a baby born without signs of life. A stillbirth can result in the feeling of guilt or grief in the mother. The term ...

s, or from undergoing abortion services.

Elections

Williams introduced legislation in the 2021 legislative session that would allow voters to cast ballots at curbside voting locations.

Social issues

In February 2022, Williams attended a rally to urge lawmakers to pass the Time to Care Act, legislation that would offer

paid family leave Parental leave, or family leave, is an employee benefit available in almost all countries. The term "parental leave" may include maternity, paternity, and adoption leave; or may be used distinctively from "maternity leave" and "paternity le ...

to all Marylanders.

Transportation

In May 2021, Williams attended a rally alongside a number of elected officials to protest a proposed Maglev train between

Baltimore Baltimore ( , locally: or ) is the List of municipalities in Maryland, most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland, fourth most populous city in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, and List of United States cities by popula ...

and Washington, D.C. Williams introduced legislation during the 2021 legislative session that would block the use of state funds to construct the maglev.

Redistricting

In July 2021, Williams attended a public hearing hosted by the Maryland Citizens Redistricting Commission to ask commission members to keep the state's current multi-member legislative district system in their proposed map.

Electoral history

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Williams, Nicole A. Living people 1977 births Democratic Party members of the Maryland House of Delegates University of Pittsburgh alumni Politicians from Washington, D.C. 21st-century American legislators African-American state legislators in Maryland African-American women in politics 21st-century American women politicians 21st-century African-American women 21st-century African-American politicians 20th-century African-American women Politicians from Prince George's County, Maryland 21st-century Maryland politicians