Forrest Williams

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Forrest Williams is an American politician from California, currently serving on the San José City Council, representing District 2.

The Councilmember , a 35-plus year resident of San José, was elected to the San José City Council in the November 2000. On March 2, 2004, he overwhelmingly won his bid for re-election to another 4-year term, beginning in January 2005.

Forrest represents the more than 92,000 residents of the Santa Teresa / Edenvale / Coyote Valley area of south San José. He currently serves on the following committees: Chair of the San José City Council Standing Committee on Transportation & Environment and a member of the City's Public Safety, Fiance & Strategic Support, the San José Redevelopment Agency Board of Directors, and the Federated Employees Retirement Board. He is Vice Chair of the Family Domestic Violence Advisory Board and serves as Council Liaison to the City’s Arts Commission.

Forrest is also a member of the Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority (VTA) Board, and is a member of the VTA Administration and Finance Committee. He also serves on the CalTrain Board of Directors, and is Chair of the Capitol Corridor Joint Powers Board.

In addition to his membership on these transportation boards, Forrest serves as a member of the Executive Board of the Association of Bay Area Governments (ABAG) and is a member of the San José/Santa Clara Clean Water Financing Authority.

Forrest has an extensive record of community and public service prior to his election to the San José City Council. He was elected to three terms as a Trustee of the Oak Grove School District and has served as a City of San José Planning Commissioner, Vice President of the Boys and Girls Clubs of Silicon Valley, and a Board Member for the South Valley Family YMCA.

He has received various community recognition awards, including the Martin Luther King “Excellence” Award for Community Services, San José Business Award for Contributions to Education, Frederick D. Patterson Volunteer of the Year Award, Edna M. McGhee Memorial Award for Volunteer Services, and the District Two Good Neighbor Award for Community Service.

Forrest has worked for IBM Corporation for over 35 years as a Senior Engineering Manager. He holds the following degrees: BSEE, MSEE, and DEECS; and is a veteran of the United States Army Signal Corps.

Forrest and his wife, Dorothy, have been married for over 39 years and have two adult children.