Anthony H. Williams

For other people named Anthony Williams, see Anthony Williams (disambiguation).
Anthony Hardy Williams
Member of the Pennsylvania Senate
from the 8th district
Incumbent
Assumed office
January 5, 1999
Preceded by Hardy Williams
Democratic Whip
of the Pennsylvania Senate
Incumbent
Assumed office
January 25, 2011
Preceded by Mike O'Pake
Member of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives
from the 191st district
In office
January 3, 1989[1] – November 30, 1998[2]
Preceded by Peter Truman
Succeeded by Ronald Waters
Personal details
Born February 28, 1957 (1957-02-28) (age 55)
Political party Democratic
Spouse(s) Shari
Residence Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Alma mater Franklin and Marshall College
Religion Christian

Anthony Hardy Williams (born February 28, 1957) is a 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.

Williams’ fierce advocacy for quality education and school choice is borne out of his own educational experience and witnessing the daily struggles, sacrifices and accomplishments of his mother Carole, an elementary school teacher in inner-city Philadelphia, now retired. His early education began at Anderson Elementary, a neighborhood public school a block from his home. The environment at Anderson elementary was nurturing and the teachers had high expectations for every student, but no one had higher expectations of Williams than his mother who taught there. Anderson Elementary gave Williams a firm educational foundation and had a profound impact on his approach to education. He can still recite the names of each of his teachers.

School overcrowding forced Williams out of Anderson Elementary. In the 4th grade he was bused to Mitchell Elementary, a less highly regarded academic institution. In 6th grade he was admitted to the Conwell Middle Magnet School. Williams did not do well there, amid gang activity and a less structured, experimental learning environment.

Understanding that Williams was not performing to his potential at Conwell, his mother and grandfather were instrumental in getting him accepted to Westtown, a highly regarded college prep school located in the far western suburbs of Philadelphia. It was this choice that his family was able to make for him that turned his life around, both academically and personally. It was in this environment of high expectations, academic focus and scholarly discourse that Williams thrived. He went on to earn a degree in Economics from Franklin & Marshall College in Lancaster, PA.

Williams credits his family’s fateful decision for him to attend Westtown as the foundation upon which his life is built. That choice, made on his behalf, fuels his desire for all Pennsylvania parents to be able to make the same choice for their children. That is why he fights daily to make school choice a reality in Pennsylvania. [3]

He was sworn in to represent the 191st legislative district in the Pennsylvania House of Representatives in 1989.[4] In 1998, Williams' father, Pennsylvania State Senator Hardy Williams, retired hours before the deadline to file nominating petitions, allowing Anthony the opportunity to run unopposed for his father's 8th senatorial district seat.[5] 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.[6]

Contents

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 and chairs the Black Elected Officials of Philadelphia County, an ad-hoc group encompassing federal, state and municipal politicians of color.[7] In January 2011, following the death of Mike O'Pake, Williams was elected Democratic Whip.

Ward leader

Williams is the Ward Leader of the 3rd Ward Democratic Executive Committee.[8] 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 of Philadelphia.

Gubernatorial candidacy

On February 23, 2010, Williams declared his candidacy for Governor in the 2010 election.[9] In the May primary, he finished third out of four candidates.

2010 Democratic Gubernatorial Primary results [10]
Party Candidate Votes Percentage
Democratic Dan Onorato 452,611 45.1%
Democratic Jack Wagner 244,234 24.3%
Democratic Anthony Williams 180,932 18.0%
Democratic Joe Hoeffel 125,989 12.6%
Totals 1,003,766 97.7%

References

  1. ^ "Session of 1989 - 173D of the General Assembly - No. 1". Legislative Journal. Pennsylvania House of Representatives. 1989-01-03. http://www.legis.state.pa.us/WU01/LI/HJ/1989/0/19890103.pdf. 
  2. ^ Per Article II, Section 2 of the Pennsylvania Constitution, the legislative session ended on November 30, 1998
  3. ^ http://www.senatoranthonyhwilliams.com/sen-anthony-h-williams/about/biography
  4. ^ Cox, Harold (November 3, 2004). "Pennsylvania House of Representatives - 1989-1990". Wilkes University Election Statistics Project. Wilkes University. http://staffweb.wilkes.edu/harold.cox/legis/173H.pdf. 
  5. ^ "PA. LEGISLATIVE SEATS HAVE A WAY OF STAYING IN THE FAMILY \ TWO RETIRING STATE SENATORS ARE LIKELY TO BE SUCCEEDED BY SONS. OPPONENTS MAY BE SORE, BUT IT'S NOT UNUSUAL.". Philadelphia Inquirer. 1998-09-07. http://nl.newsbank.com/nl-search/we/Archives?p_product=PI&s_site=philly&p_multi=PI&p_theme=realcities&p_action=search&p_maxdocs=200&p_topdoc=1&p_text_direct-0=0EB3306F36CD24A3&p_field_direct-0=document_id&p_perpage=10&p_sort=YMD_date:D&s_trackval=GooglePM. "Only hours before the spring deadline to file nominating petitions for a fifth term in the state Senate, Philadelphia Democrat Hardy Williams announced that he would not run again. But even at the eleventh hour, one Democrat had no problem coming up with the 500 signatures he needed to become a candidate: Williams' son, State Rep. Anthony Hardy Williams. The younger Williams knew a couple of days ahead of time that his father was thinking of retiring." 
  6. ^ "Session of 1999 - 183D of the General Assembly - No. 1". Legislative Journal. Pennsylvania House of Representatives. 1999-01-05. http://www.legis.state.pa.us/WU01/LI/HJ/1999/0/19990105.pdf. 
  7. ^ http://www.pacouncilonthearts.org/
  8. ^ Committee of Seventy (2009-12-21). "2009 Citizen's Guide" (PDF). 2009 Citizen's Guide. The Committee of Seventy, Philadelphia, PA 19103. http://www.seventy.org/Downloads/2009_Citizen's_Guide.pdf. Retrieved 2009-12-21. 
  9. ^ http://www.philly.com/philly/news/20100223_Sen__Williams_formally_enters_race_for_governor.html
  10. ^ http://www.politico.com/2010/maps/#/Governor/2010/PA

External links

Members of the Pennsylvania State Senate
President of the Senate: Jim Cawley (R) • President pro tempore: Joseph Scarnati (R) • Majority Leader: Dominic Pileggi (R) • Minority Leader: Jay Costa (D)
   
  1.    Larry Farnese (D)
  2.    Tina Tartaglione (D)
  3.    Shirley Kitchen (D)
  4.    LeAnna Washington (D)
  5.    Mike Stack (D)
  6.    Tommy Tomlinson (R)
  7.    Vincent Hughes (D)
  8.    Anthony Williams (D)
  9.    Dominic Pileggi (R)
  10.    Chuck McIlhinney (R)
  1.    Judy Schwank (D)
  2.    Stewart Greenleaf (R)
  3.    Lloyd Smucker (R)
  4.    John Yudichak (D)
  5.    Jeffrey Piccola (R)
  6.    Pat Browne (R)
  7.    Daylin Leach (D)
  8.    Lisa Boscola (D)
  9.    Andy Dinniman (D)
  10.    Lisa Baker (R)
  1.    Mary Jo White (R)
  2.    John Blake (D)
  3.    Gene Yaw (R)
  4.    Bob Mensch (R)
  5.    Joseph Scarnati (R)
  6.    Ted Erickson (R)
  7.    John Gordner (R)
  8.    Mike Waugh (R)
  9.    Dave Argall (R)
  10.    John Eichelberger (R)
  1.    Pat Vance (R)
  2.    Rich Kasunic (D)
  3.    Rich Alloway (R)
  4.    Jake Corman (R)
  5.    John Wozniak (D)
  6.    Mike Brubaker (R)
  7.    John Pippy (R)
  8.    Jim Ferlo (D)
  9.    Kim Ward (R)
  10.    Jane Orie (R)
  1.    Don White (R)
  2.    Wayne Fontana (D)
  3.    Jay Costa (D)
  4.    John Rafferty (R)
  5.    Jim Brewster (D)
  6.    Tim Solobay (D)
  7.    Elder Vogel (R)
  8.    Mike Folmer (R)
  9.    Jane Earll (R)
  10.    Bob Robbins (R)