Quentin S. "Q" Williams (; November 24, 1983 – January 5, 2023) was an American politician of the

Democratic Party Democratic Party most often refers to: *Democratic Party (United States) Democratic Party and similar terms may also refer to: Active parties Africa *Botswana Democratic Party *Democratic Party of Equatorial Guinea *Gabonese Democratic Party *Demo ...

. He was a member of the

Connecticut House of Representatives The Connecticut State House of Representatives is the lower house in the Connecticut General Assembly, the state legislature (United States), state legislature of the U.S. state of Connecticut. The house is composed of 151 members representing an ...

, representing the 100th district in Middlesex County from 2019 until his death in 2023.

Career

In 2007, he was elected to the

Middletown, Connecticut Middletown is a city located in Middlesex County, Connecticut, United States, Located along the Connecticut River, in the central part of the state, it is south of Hartford, Connecticut, Hartford. In 1650, it was incorporated by English settler ...

Planning & Zoning Commission. Williams was unanimously made chair of the commission two years later. Williams was elected as Middletown Treasurer in 2011 and re-elected in 2015. He was the director of policy and advocacy for Excellence Community Schools, a charter school system in

Stamford, Connecticut Stamford () is a city in the U.S. state of Connecticut, outside of Manhattan. It is Connecticut's second-most populous city, behind Bridgeport. With a population of 135,470, Stamford passed Hartford and New Haven in population as of the 2020 ...

. Williams was elected to the Connecticut House of Representatives in 2018 winning 61% of the vote over 39% for

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 ...

candidate Anthony Gennaro. He was re-elected in 2020 and 2022. During the legislature's 2021–22 session, he co-chaired the committees on aging and housing. At the start of the 2023–24 session, he was set to co-chair the labor committee. Williams was noted for his focus on housing issues. In 2022, he authored a bill, which was successfully passed into law, leading to the formation of commissions to mediate disputes between tenants and renters in all Connecticut municipalities with a population of over 25,000.

Personal life

Born Quentin Phipps, he changed his surname to Williams, his mother's last name, in 2022. Williams was a graduate of

Bryant University Bryant University is a private university in Smithfield, Rhode Island. It has two colleges, the College of Arts and Sciences and the College of Business, and is accredited by the New England Commission of Higher Education. History Butler Exc ...

, where he studied business, and

Villanova University Villanova University is a Private university, private Catholic church, Roman Catholic research university in Villanova, Pennsylvania. It was founded by the Order of Saint Augustine, Augustinians in 1842 and named after Thomas of Villanova, Sa ...

, where he received a master's degree in public administration. At the time of his death, he was enrolled at the

Harvard Kennedy School The Harvard Kennedy School (HKS), officially the John F. Kennedy School of Government, is the school of public policy and government of Harvard University in Cambridge, Massachusetts. The school offers master's degrees in public policy, public ...

. Williams lived in Middletown with his wife, the former Carrissa Phillippe. He was a member of the Cross Street Zion

AME Church The African Methodist Episcopal Church, usually called the AME Church or AME, is a Black church, predominantly African American Methodist Religious denomination, denomination. It adheres to Wesleyan-Arminian theology and has a connexionalism, c ...

in Middletown.

Death

On January 4, 2023, Williams was sworn in for his third term in the legislature and attended inaugural festivities for reelected governor

Ned Lamont Edward Miner Lamont Jr. (born January 3, 1954) is an American businessman and politician serving as the 89th governor of Connecticut. He has served in this position since January 9, 2019. A member of the Democratic Party, he served as a Greenwi ...

Hartford Hartford is the capital city of the U.S. state of Connecticut. It was the seat of Hartford County until Connecticut disbanded county government in 1960. It is the core city in the Greater Hartford metropolitan area. Census estimates since the ...

that evening. At 12:48 a.m. on January 5, Williams was driving southbound on

Connecticut Route 9 Route 9 is a , four-lane freeway beginning in Old Saybrook and ending at I-84 near the Farmington–West Hartford town line. It connects the Eastern Coastline of the state along with the Lower Connecticut River Valley to Hartford and the ...

Cromwell Oliver Cromwell (25 April 15993 September 1658) was an English politician and military officer who is widely regarded as one of the most important statesmen in English history. He came to prominence during the 1639 to 1651 Wars of the Three Ki ...

when a northbound vehicle entered the lane and struck his car head-on. Williams and the northbound driver both died at the scene. Quentin Williams was just 39 years old.

Electoral history

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Williams, Quentin 1983 births 2023 deaths 21st-century American politicians African-American state legislators in Connecticut Bryant University alumni City and town treasurers in the United States Democratic Party members of the Connecticut House of Representatives Harvard Kennedy School alumni People of the African Methodist Episcopal church Politicians from Middletown, Connecticut Road incident deaths in Connecticut Villanova University alumni