Anthony H. Williams

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.

For other people named Anthony Williams, see Anthony Williams (disambiguation).
Anthony Hardy Williams
Member of the Pennsylvania Senate
from the 8th district
Assumed office
January 5, 1999
Preceded byHardy Williams
Democratic Whip
of the Pennsylvania Senate
In office
January 25, 2011 – November 15, 2022
Preceded byMichael O'Pake
Succeeded byChristine Tartaglione
Member of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives
from the 191st district
In office
January 3, 1989[1] – November 30, 1998[2]
Preceded byPeter Truman
Succeeded byRonald Waters
Personal details
Born (1957-02-28) February 28, 1957
Political partyDemocratic
Other political
affiliations		Forward Party (2023–present)
SpouseShari
ResidencePhiladelphia, Pennsylvania
Alma materFranklin and Marshall College

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. He then earned a degree in economics from Franklin & Marshall College.[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]

On June 21, 2023, Williams along with fellow State Senator Lisa Boscola announced they were affiliating with Andrew Yang's Forward Party, though they were not dropping their membership of the Democratic Party and the State Senate's Democratic caucus.[7]

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.[8] 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.[9] 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 in the 2010 election.[10] In the May primary, he finished third out of four candidates.

2010 Democratic Gubernatorial Primary results [11]
Party Candidate Votes %
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
Total votes 1,003,766 97.7

References
  1. "Session of 1989 - 173D of the General Assembly - No. 1" (PDF). Legislative Journal. Pennsylvania House of Representatives. January 3, 1989.
  2. Per Article II, Section 2 of the Pennsylvania Constitution, the legislative session ended on November 30, 1998
  3. "Biography". Archived from the original on June 16, 2011. Retrieved June 6, 2011.
  4. Cox, Harold (November 3, 2004). "Pennsylvania House of Representatives - 1989-1990" (PDF). Wilkes University Election Statistics Project. Wilkes University.
  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". The Philadelphia Inquirer. September 7, 1998. 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" (PDF). Legislative Journal. Pennsylvania House of Representatives. January 5, 1999.
  7. "PRESS RELEASE: Pennsylvania Lawmakers Become Forward Party Affiliates, Joining Many Other Elected Officials Across the Country – Forward Party". Retrieved September 22, 2023.
  8. "Registrant WHOIS contact information verification - Namecheap.com". pacouncilonthearts.org. Retrieved May 2, 2019.
  9. Committee of Seventy (December 21, 2009). "2009 Citizen's Guide" (PDF). The Committee of Seventy, Philadelphia, PA 19103. Archived from the original (PDF) on April 19, 2009. Retrieved December 21, 2009.
  10. Bureau, By Amy Worden, Inquirer Harrisburg. "Sen. Williams formally enters race for governor". www.philly.com. Retrieved May 2, 2019.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  11. POLITICO. "The 2010 Results Maps". POLITICO. Retrieved May 2, 2019.


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