Thelda Marie Williams (née Bender) is an American politician and has served as a city councilor in

Phoenix, Arizona Phoenix ( ; nv, Hoozdo; es, Fénix or , yuf-x-wal, Banyà:nyuwá) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Arizona, with 1,608,139 residents as of 2020. It is the fifth-most populous city in the United States, and the on ...

since 1985. She has been appointed multiple times as interim

Mayor of Phoenix The following is a list of the mayors of Phoenix, Arizona. Living former mayors of Phoenix There are six living former mayors of Phoenix, the oldest being John B. Nelson (served 1994, born 1936). The most recent death of a former mayor of ...

Biography

Williams, who had served on the Phoenix city council since 1989, was selected by the council to serve as an interim mayor of the city on March 29, 1994, following the resignation of former mayor Paul Johnson. Johnson, who was announcing his candidacy for the office of

Governor of Arizona A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political ...

, was forced to resign his position due to state law prohibiting current officeholders from seeking another office except in the last year of their term. Coincidentally, Johnson had first been elevated to the office of mayor under similar circumstances when former mayor

Terry Goddard Samuel Pearson Goddard III (born January 29, 1947) is an American attorney and politician. He served as the Mayor of Phoenix from 1984 to 1990, on the Central Arizona Water Conservation District from 2001 to 2003 and as the 24th Attorney Genera ...

had resigned his office to run for governor in 1990. Williams chose not to seek election to the office of mayor during the 1994 special election, and resumed her duties as councilwoman on November 3, 1994. Williams chose to challenge the new incumbent

Skip Rimsza Anton "Skip" Rimsza (born March 31, 1955, in Chicago, Illinois) is an American politician and was a mayor of Phoenix, Arizona from 1994 to 2004. Biography Skip Rimsza was born March 31, 1955 in Chicago, Illinois. His parents were Anton Vincent ...

for the office during the regular elections in 1995 but was defeated; having not run for reelection in her council seat, she left the city council in 1996. Williams ran for a new term in 2007 and was elected to a four-year term on the Phoenix city council on September 11, 2007. Williams was elected to another four-year term in 2011. Williams was once again Phoenix's interim mayor following the resignation of

Greg Stanton Gregory John Stanton (born March 8, 1970) is an American lawyer and politician who is the U.S. representative from . A Democrat, he was mayor of Phoenix, Arizona. Stanton was on the Phoenix City Council from 2000 until 2009. Stanton was elect ...

, who resigned in order to run successfully for U.S. Congress, on May 29, 2018. She did not declare for the ensuing special election.

References

External links

Official profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Williams, Thelda Living people Mayors of Phoenix, Arizona Arizona city council members Women city councillors in Arizona Women mayors of places in Arizona 20th-century American politicians 21st-century American politicians 20th-century American women politicians 21st-century American women politicians 1941 births