Anthony Hardy Williams (born February 28, 1957) is an American politician, former businessman, and Democratic member of the Pennsylvania State Senate, representing the 8th District since 1998. Prior to entering public service, he worked at PepsiCo as a mid-level executive and later owned a small vending company.

Life and career

Williams is the son of Hardy, a politician, and Carole, an elementary school teacher. He grew up in Philadelphia. He attended Anderson Elementary School (one block from his home, where his mother taught), Mitchell Elementary School, Conwell Middle Magnet School and

Westtown School Westtown School is a Quaker, coeducational, college preparatory day and boarding school for students in pre-kindergarten through twelfth grade, located in West Chester, Pennsylvania, United States, 20 miles west of Philadelphia. Founded in 1799 b ...

. He then earned a degree in economics from

Franklin & Marshall College Franklin & Marshall College (F&M) is a private liberal arts college in Lancaster, Pennsylvania. It employs 175 full-time faculty members and has a student body of approximately 2,400 full-time students. It was founded upon the merger of Fran ...

. He was sworn in to represent the 191st legislative district in the Pennsylvania House of Representatives in 1989. In 1998, Williams' father,

Pennsylvania State Senator 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 ever ...

Hardy Williams Hardy Williams (April 14, 1931 – January 7, 2010) was an American politician who served as a Democratic member of the Pennsylvania State Senate for the 8th district from 1983 to 1998. Background He faced criticism in the 1980s for questions ...

, retired hours before the deadline to file nominating petitions, allowing Anthony the opportunity to run unopposed for his father's 8th senatorial district seat. The younger Williams had already filed his nominating petitions to run for his House seat, so he remained on both ballots. He declined to take his House seat when he won both elections simultaneously.

Current committees and assignments

Williams is the Democratic chairman of the State Government Committee in the state Senate and is a member of the Education, Banking and Insurance, Finance, and the Environmental Resources and Energy committees, and the Life Sciences Caucus. He is also a member of the

Pennsylvania Council on the Arts The Pennsylvania Council on the Arts (PCA) is an agency serving the U.S. state of Pennsylvania. Its mission is to strengthen the cultural, educational, and economic vitality of Pennsylvania's communities through the arts. This mission is paired wit ...

and chairs the Black Elected Officials of Philadelphia County, an ad hoc group encompassing federal, state and municipal politicians of color. In January 2011, following the death of Michael O'Pake, Williams was elected Democratic Whip.

Ward leader

Williams is the Ward Leader of the 3rd Ward Democratic Executive Committee. He also chairs the Philadelphia Democratic United Ward Leaders of Color, a group of ward leaders of color who represent various wards within The City and County of Philadelphia.

Gubernatorial candidacy

On February 23, 2010, Williams declared his candidacy for

Governor 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 ...

in the 2010 election. In the May primary, he finished third out of four candidates.

References

External links

Senator Anthony H. Williams
official caucus website
Pennsylvania State Senate - Anthony H. Williams
official PA Senate website
Anthony Hardy Williams for Pennsylvania Governor
official gubernatorial campaign website *''Follow the Money'' - Anthony H. Williams
2006200420022000
campaign contributions * Democratic Party Pennsylvania state senators Democratic Party members of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives Living people African-American state legislators in Pennsylvania 1957 births Politicians from Philadelphia Westtown School alumni Franklin & Marshall College alumni 21st-century American politicians 21st-century African-American politicians 20th-century African-American people {{Pennsylvania-PASenate-stub