Nantasha M. Williams (born March 29, 1988) is an

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

politician from

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

. A

Democrat 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 ...

, Williams represents the 27th district in the

New York City Council The New York City Council is the lawmaking body of New York City. It has 51 members from 51 council districts throughout the five Borough (New York City), boroughs. The council serves as a check against the Mayor of New York City, mayor in a may ...

, which covers parts of southeastern

Queens Queens is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Queens County, in the U.S. state of New York. Located on Long Island, it is the largest New York City borough by area. It is bordered by the borough of Brooklyn at the western tip of Long ...

Early life and education

Williams was born in

, and was raised by a single mother who worked as a social worker. She received a BA from

Virginia Commonwealth University Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU) is a public research university in Richmond, Virginia. VCU was founded in 1838 as the medical department of Hampden–Sydney College, becoming the Medical College of Virginia in 1854. In 1968, the Virgini ...

and an

MPA MPA or mPa may refer to: Academia Academic degrees * Master of Performing Arts * Master of Professional Accountancy * Master of Public Administration * Master of Public Affairs Schools * Mesa Preparatory Academy * Morgan Park Academy * Mound ...

from

SUNY Albany The State University of New York at Albany, commonly referred to as the University at Albany, UAlbany or SUNY Albany, is a Public university, public research university with campuses in Albany, New York, Albany, Rensselaer, New York, Rensselae ...

, and is currently enrolled in a PhD program at the

CUNY Graduate Center The Graduate School and University Center of the City University of New York (CUNY Graduate Center) is a public research institution and post-graduate university in New York City. Serving as the principal doctorate-granting institution of the Ci ...

Career

Prior to seeking elected office herself, Williams held a number of staff roles in the office of Assemblywoman

Diana Richardson Diana Richardson (born January 16, 1983) is an American politician who served as a member of the New York Assembly. She was elected on the Working Families Party line in a 2015 special election to replace Karim Camara in the 43rd district, which ...

, eventually rising to become Richardson's chief of staff. Williams was also appointed as the executive director of New York State's Black, Puerto Rican, Hispanic and Asian Legislative Caucus, which represents state assemblymembers and senators of color.

2016 State Assembly campaign

2016 File:2016 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Bombed-out buildings in Ankara following the 2016 Turkish coup d'état attempt; the impeachment trial of Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff; Damaged houses during the 2016 Nagorno-Karabakh ...

, after the death of Assemblywoman

Barbara Clark Barbara Lynne Clark (born September 24, 1958), later known by her married name Barbara Parolin, is a former competitive swimmer from Canada, who competed primarily in international freestyle events. At the 1976 Summer Olympics in Montreal, Q ...

, Williams announced she would run for the 33rd district of the

New York State Assembly The New York State Assembly is the lower house of the New York State Legislature, with the New York State Senate being the upper house. There are 150 seats in the Assembly. Assembly members serve two-year terms without term limits. The Assem ...

in southeastern

. She faced

Clyde Vanel Clyde Vanel is an Intellectual property attorney and entrepreneur serving as the Assembly member for the 33rd District of the New York State Assembly. A Democrat, he is the chair of the Subcommittee on Internet & New Technologies. The distric ...

, who had run for the seat twice before, and three other candidates in the Democratic primary. Vanel ultimately defeated Williams by a narrow margin, 32-28%, and went on to win the seat in the general election.

2021 City Council election

Four years after her Assembly campaign, with incumbent City Councilman

Daneek Miller Ira Daneek Miller (born November 6, 1960) is an American politician who served as the Council Member for the 27th district of the New York City Council. He is a Democrat. The district included Cambria Heights, Hollis, Jamaica, Jamaica Esta ...

term-limited, Williams launched her campaign for the 27th district of the

, a heavily overlapping constituency. Williams received endorsements from Assemblywoman Alicia Hyndman and nearly all of the city's major unions, but many other power players remained neutral among the crowded race's twelve contenders. On primary election night on June 22, Williams emerged with a strong lead, earning 36 percent of the vote while her nearest competitor was far behind with 11 percent; she officially won two weeks later, after ranked-choice votes and absentee ballots were counted. She ran uncontested in the November general election, and was elected. She assumed office on January 1, 2022.

First Term (2022-2023)

Shortly after being elected, Council Member Williams was appointed to Chair the NYC Council's Committee on Civil and Human Rights, and sit on the following committees: Economic Development, General Welfare, Mental Health, Disabilities, and Addictions, Oversight and Investigations, Sanitation and Solid Waste Management, Transportation and Infrastructure, and Youth Services.

Personal life

Williams lives in

Cambria Heights Cambria Heights is a residential neighborhood in the southeastern portion of the New York City borough of Queens. It is bounded by Springfield Boulevard and Francis Lewis Boulevard to the west, the Elmont, Nassau County border on the east, Qu ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Williams, Nantasha Living people 1988 births Politicians from Queens, New York Virginia Commonwealth University alumni University at Albany, SUNY alumni New York (state) Democrats African-American people in New York (state) politics African-American women in politics 21st-century American women politicians 21st-century American politicians 21st-century African-American women 21st-century African-American politicians 20th-century African-American people 20th-century African-American women Women New York City Council members New York City Council members