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{{Short description|American lawyer (born 1953)}}
{{Cleanup-date|June 2006}}


{{for|other persons of the same name|Michael Williams (disambiguation)}}
'''Michael L. Williams''' (born ], ]) currently serves as the Texas Railroad Commissioner of the State of Texas. The ] regulates the Texas oil and gas industry.
{{BLP sources|date=October 2015}}
{{Infobox officeholder
| name = Michael Lawrence Williams
| image = Michael L Williams-headshot.jpg
| order =
| title = Commissioner of the ]
| governor = ] (2012–2015)<br />] (2015)
| term_start = August 27, 2012
| term_end = December 31, 2015
| predecessor = Robert Scott
| successor = ]
| order2 =
| title2 = ]
| term_start2 = January 3, 1999
| term_end2 = March 31, 2011
| governor2 = ] (1999–2000)<br />] (2000–2011)
| preceded2 = ]
| succeeded2 = ]
| office3 = ]
| president3 = ]
| term_start3 = 1990
| term_end3 = 1993
| predecessor3 = LeGree S. Daniels
| successor3 = ]
| office4 = Deputy Assistant Secretary of the Treasury for Law Enforcement
| term_start4 = April 1989
| term_end4 = 1990<ref name="Congressional hearings" />
| president4 = ]
| predecessor4 = Gerald L. Hilsher<ref></ref>
| successor4 = Nancy L. Worthington<ref></ref>
| birth_date = {{birth date and age|mf=yes|1953|05|31}}
| birth_place = ], U.S.
| death_date =
| death_place =
| party = ]
| spouse = Donna Nelson<ref name="Congressional hearings"></ref>
| children =
| residence = ]
| alma_mater = ] (], ], ])<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://dornsife.usc.edu/giving/your-impact/michael-williams/ |title=Michael Williams |access-date=July 17, 2024| website=dornsife.usc.edu}}</ref>
| occupation =
| profession = ], ]
| cabinet =
| committees =
| portfolio =
| signature =
| website =
| footnotes =
}}


'''Michael Lawrence Williams''' (born May 31, 1953) is an American educator and attorney who is the former Education Commissioner of the ] of ], in which capacity he was leader of the ]. Williams was appointed to the position on August 27, 2012, by then ] ].<ref name="texastribune.org">Smith, Morgan. , '']'', August 27, 2012.</ref> On October 15, 2015, Williams announced that he would step down as Education Commissioner at the end of the year to return to the private sector.<ref name=resignation>Lauren McGaughy, "Education commissioner to leave post at year's end: Williams says commute took toll", '']'', October 16, 2015, pp. A3, A5</ref>
]


Williams is also a former member of the elected ], a regulatory body that oversees the ] and ] industries. He is the first ] to hold a statewide elected executive office in Texas history. He was appointed to the commission by then-Governor ] in 1999, and won elections in 2000, 2002, and 2008 to retain the office before eventually resigning in 2011. He is one of six African Americans to hold statewide office such as Louis Sturns, ], ], ] and ]. Williams is also the fourth African American to be elected to statewide office overall, following Overstreet, Jefferson and Wainwright.
Williams was initially appointed to the Texas Railroad Commission by former Governor George W. Bush in December 1998 to serve the unexpired term of Carole Keeton Rylander. Williams chaired the Commission from September 1999 to September 2003. In November 2000, the people of Texas elected him to complete the term expiring in the year 2002, and in November 2002, they reaffirmed their support by electing him to a full six-year term expiring in the year 2008. He is the first African American in Texas history to hold an executive statewide elected post and is the highest-ranking African American in Texas state government.


On May 29, 2012, Williams ran unsuccessfully in the Republican primary for the redrawn ] seat that stretches southward from ] to ] counties.<ref name="Answering The Call"> {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121024142107/http://www.williamsfortexas.com/posts/michael-williams-answers-the-call |date=2012-10-24 }}, Michael Williams for U.S. Congress, July 29, 2011.</ref><ref name=WilliamsSwitch>{{cite web|url=http://www.texastribune.org/texas-politics/2012-congressional-election/williams-pulls-switch/|title=Williams Pulls a Switch|date=July 29, 2011|access-date=July 30, 2011|work=]|first=Ross|last=Ramsey}}</ref>
He chairs the Governor’s Clean Coal Technology Council, chairs the board, and represents the Governor and the Railroad Commission of Texas on the . On September 14, 2005, designated Williams as his designee to lead the state’s long-term Hurricane Katrina relief efforts. Williams also is the Railroad Commission “point person” for the agency’s regulatory reform and technology modernization efforts.


==Career==
In addition to serving on the state’s oldest regulatory agency, Michael currently serves as the Honorary State Chairman of of Texas which helps to enrich, encourage, and empower children through safe, positive, one-to-one mentoring relationships.
Williams was a federal prosecutor from 1984 to 1988 and a former assistant district attorney in his hometown of ], Texas. He also served as Special Assistant to Attorney General ] at the ] from January 1988 to June 1989. In 1988, former ] ] awarded Williams the Attorney General's "Special Achievement Award" for the conviction of six ] members on federal weapons charges.


Williams served as Deputy Assistant Secretary for Law Enforcement at the ]. In that capacity, he had oversight responsibility for the Federal Law Enforcement Training Center, the ], the U.S. Customs Service, the and the (August 1989 – June 1990).{{Citation needed|date=October 2008}} In 1990, ] ] appointed Williams to be Assistant Secretary of Education for Civil Rights (the ]) at the ],<ref name=resignation/> a post previously held by ]. Williams has also served as general counsel to Wilkins Group, Inc., a telecommunications company based in ], Texas.<ref>''Austin American Statesman'', December 22, 1998</ref>
Prior to his appointment to the Railroad Commission of Texas, Williams served as general counsel to a Texas-based high-tech corporation. He also has served in a volunteer capacity as the general counsel of the , the chairman of the and on the Board of Directors of the , the and Our Mother of Mercy Catholic School.
Williams is the first ] to hold a statewide elected executive office in Texas history. Williams was appointed to the ], a regulatory body that oversees the ] and ] industries, by then-Governor ] in 1999; he and won elections in 2000, 2002, and 2008 to retain the office before eventually resigning in 2011. He is also the fourth African American to be elected to statewide office overall, following ], ], and ].
Williams chaired the Texas Railroad Commission from September 1999 to September 2003, and again from June 2007 to February 2009. Williams also chaired the Governor's Clean ] Technology Council, and represented the governor and the Railroad Commission of Texas on the . On September 14, 2005, Texas Governor ] designated Williams to lead the state's long-term ] relief efforts. Williams was also the Railroad Commission's "point person" for agency regulatory reform and technology modernization efforts.


Williams was appointed Texas Education Commissioner on August 27, 2012 by then ] ];<ref name="texastribune.org"/> he became the first African-American Commissioner of Education in Texas history.<ref>, Texas Education Agency, August 27, 2012.</ref> On October 15, 2015, Williams announced that he would step down as Education Commissioner at the end of the year to return to the private sector. The 200-mile one-way commute from his home in ] to the state capital in ] had become too taxing to remain in the position, Williams said. Perry's successor, Governor ], named Mike Morath as Williams' successor in the position.<ref name="resignation"/>
In 1990, President George H. W. Bush appointed Williams to be Assistant Secretary of Education for Civil Rights at the .


===Political campaigns and activities===
Previously, Chairman Williams served as Deputy Assistant Secretary for Law Enforcement at the . In that capacity, he had oversight responsibility for the Federal Law Enforcement Training Center, the U.S. Secret Service, the U.S. Customs Service, the and the (Aug ‘89 - Jun ‘90).
Williams addressed the ], at which he endorsed the reelection of President George W. Bush. He also spoke at the ]in ], ], where he endorsed the party nominee, U.S. Senator ] of ], for president.


In 2000, Williams won a two-year unexpired term on the Railroad Commission without Democratic opposition. He defeated the ] Anthony Garcia and the ] candidate, Charles L. Mauch. Williams received 3,600,967 votes (77 percent) to Garcia's 740,340 ballots (15.8 percent) and Mauch's 334,706 votes (7.2 percent).
He also served as Special Assistant to Attorney General Richard Thornburgh at the (Jan ‘88 - Jun ‘89). In 1988, former U.S. Attorney General Ed Meese awarded Williams the Attorney General’s “Special Achievement Award” for the conviction of six Ku Klux Klan members on federal weapons charges. He is a former federal prosecutor from 1984-1988 and a former assistant district attorney in his hometown of .


In 2002, Williams won a full six-year term on the Commission. He polled 2,407,036 votes (54.8 percent) to 1,821,751 (41.5 percent) for Democrat Sherry Boyles. Two other candidates received a total of 162,482 votes (4.7 percent).<ref>{{cite web
Williams is married to Donna Williams and is the son of public school teachers. He earned a bachelor’s, a master’s and a law degree from the .
|title=Election History
|publisher=Texas Secretary of State
|url=http://elections.sos.state.tx.us/elchist.exe
|access-date=2010-03-26
|url-status=dead
|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140109062336/http://elections.sos.state.tx.us/elchist.exe
|archive-date=2014-01-09
}}</ref>


Williams ran for re-election for a second full six-year term to the Texas Railroad Commission in November 2008. He won the Republican nomination in March 2008 in an unopposed contest. Williams was re-elected with 52 percent of the vote, having defeated the Democratic candidate, Mark Thompson, and Libertarian candidate David Floyd.<ref>{{cite web
== External links ==
|author = Dana Chiodo
*
|title = 2008 Texas Election Results
*
|publisher = The Texas Prosperity Project
|url = http://www.txprosperity.com/page.asp?content=texas_elections&g=TEXAS
|access-date = 2010-03-26
|url-status = dead
|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20110717120334/http://www.txprosperity.com/page.asp?content=texas_elections&g=TEXAS
|archive-date = 2011-07-17
}}</ref>


Williams' effective use of social media tools earned him a Texas Social Media Award.<ref>{{cite web
]
| author =
]
| title = Texas Social Media Award Winners
]
| publisher = Austin American-Statesman
]
| url = http://www.statesman.com/news/content/standing/awardwinners.html
| date =
| access-date = 2010-03-26}}</ref>

====2012 Congressional race====
{{main|United States House of Representatives elections in Texas, 2012}}

On, December 16, 2008 Michael Williams announced via ] that he would seek a position in the ], noting the possibility of a ] in 2009 or 2010 to replace sitting U.S. Senator ], who was challenging Texas Gov. Rick Perry in a 2010 Republican primary.<ref>{{cite web | author = | title = White, Williams plan Senate race | publisher = Associated Press | url = http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/APStories/stories/D9543QVO0.html | date = 2008-12-16 | access-date = 2010-03-26}}</ref> Hutchison, however, did not resign her Senate seat even after losing the primary. On January 13, 2011, Hutchison announced that she would not run for re-election in 2012. In July 2011, Williams decided not to run for the Senate, but to seek the new ] seat.<ref name="Answering The Call"/><ref name=WilliamsSwitch /><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.texastribune.org/texas-politics/2012-congressional-election/williams-drops-senate-bid-run-congress/|title=Williams Drops Senate Bid to Run for Congress|date=June 28, 2011|access-date=June 28, 2011|work=]|first=Ross|last=Ramsey}}</ref> Williams finished fifth among twelve candidates in the House primary, having polled 5,387 votes (10.5 percent). The leading candidate, ], with 12,888 votes (25.1 percent), then won the party runoff and the general election.

==Personal life==

Williams is a 1971 graduate of ] in Midland. He is the son of ] ]s. He earned bachelor's and master's degrees from the ] in ]. He also obtained his ] degree from the USC Law School in Los Angeles. He is married to Donna Williams, who resides in Arlington, Texas. He is a brother of the University of Texas chapter of ].

Williams is a past Honorary State Chairman of ] of Texas, which helps to enrich, encourage, and empower children through safe, positive, one-to-one mentoring relationships. He also has served in a volunteer capacity as the general counsel of the ], the chairman of the and on the board of directors of the , the ], and Our Mother of Mercy Catholic School.

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
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| title=Commissioner of the ]
| years=2012–2015
| after=Mike Morath}}
{{s-end}}

{{Railroad Commissioners of Texas}}
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Latest revision as of 18:41, 17 November 2024

American lawyer (born 1953) For other persons of the same name, see Michael Williams (disambiguation).
This biography of a living person needs additional citations for verification. Please help by adding reliable sources. Contentious material about living persons that is unsourced or poorly sourced must be removed immediately from the article and its talk page, especially if potentially libelous.
Find sources: "Michael L. Williams" – news · newspapers · books · scholar · JSTOR (October 2015) (Learn how and when to remove this message)
Michael Lawrence Williams
Commissioner of the Texas Education Agency
In office
August 27, 2012 – December 31, 2015
GovernorRick Perry (2012–2015)
Greg Abbott (2015)
Preceded byRobert Scott
Succeeded byMike Morath
Railroad Commissioner of Texas
In office
January 3, 1999 – March 31, 2011
GovernorGeorge W. Bush (1999–2000)
Rick Perry (2000–2011)
Preceded byCarole Keeton Strayhorn
Succeeded byBarry Smitherman
Assistant Secretary of Education for the Office for Civil Rights
In office
1990–1993
PresidentGeorge H. W. Bush
Preceded byLeGree S. Daniels
Succeeded byNorma V. Cantu
Deputy Assistant Secretary of the Treasury for Law Enforcement
In office
April 1989 – 1990
PresidentGeorge H. W. Bush
Preceded byGerald L. Hilsher
Succeeded byNancy L. Worthington
Personal details
Born (1953-05-31) May 31, 1953 (age 71)
Midland, Texas, U.S.
Political partyRepublican
SpouseDonna Nelson
ResidenceArlington, Texas
Alma materUniversity of Southern California (BA, MPA, JD)
ProfessionLawyer, Politician

Michael Lawrence Williams (born May 31, 1953) is an American educator and attorney who is the former Education Commissioner of the U.S. state of Texas, in which capacity he was leader of the Texas Education Agency. Williams was appointed to the position on August 27, 2012, by then Governor Rick Perry. On October 15, 2015, Williams announced that he would step down as Education Commissioner at the end of the year to return to the private sector.

Williams is also a former member of the elected Texas Railroad Commission, a regulatory body that oversees the oil and natural gas industries. He is the first African American to hold a statewide elected executive office in Texas history. He was appointed to the commission by then-Governor George W. Bush in 1999, and won elections in 2000, 2002, and 2008 to retain the office before eventually resigning in 2011. He is one of six African Americans to hold statewide office such as Louis Sturns, Morris Overstreet, Wallace B. Jefferson, Dale Wainwright and Jesse McClure. Williams is also the fourth African American to be elected to statewide office overall, following Overstreet, Jefferson and Wainwright.

On May 29, 2012, Williams ran unsuccessfully in the Republican primary for the redrawn 25th congressional district seat that stretches southward from Tarrant to Hays counties.

Career

Williams was a federal prosecutor from 1984 to 1988 and a former assistant district attorney in his hometown of Midland, Texas. He also served as Special Assistant to Attorney General Richard Thornburgh at the United States Department of Justice from January 1988 to June 1989. In 1988, former U.S. Attorney General Edwin Meese awarded Williams the Attorney General's "Special Achievement Award" for the conviction of six Ku Klux Klan members on federal weapons charges.

Williams served as Deputy Assistant Secretary for Law Enforcement at the United States Department of the Treasury. In that capacity, he had oversight responsibility for the Federal Law Enforcement Training Center, the U.S. Secret Service, the U.S. Customs Service, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms and the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (August 1989 – June 1990). In 1990, U.S. President George Herbert Walker Bush appointed Williams to be Assistant Secretary of Education for Civil Rights (the Office for Civil Rights) at the United States Department of Education, a post previously held by Clarence Thomas. Williams has also served as general counsel to Wilkins Group, Inc., a telecommunications company based in Richardson, Texas.

Williams is the first African-American to hold a statewide elected executive office in Texas history. Williams was appointed to the Texas Railroad Commission, a regulatory body that oversees the oil and natural gas industries, by then-Governor George W. Bush in 1999; he and won elections in 2000, 2002, and 2008 to retain the office before eventually resigning in 2011. He is also the fourth African American to be elected to statewide office overall, following Morris Overstreet, Wallace B. Jefferson, and Dale Wainwright. Williams chaired the Texas Railroad Commission from September 1999 to September 2003, and again from June 2007 to February 2009. Williams also chaired the Governor's Clean Coal Technology Council, and represented the governor and the Railroad Commission of Texas on the Southern States Energy Board. On September 14, 2005, Texas Governor Rick Perry designated Williams to lead the state's long-term Hurricane Katrina relief efforts. Williams was also the Railroad Commission's "point person" for agency regulatory reform and technology modernization efforts.

Williams was appointed Texas Education Commissioner on August 27, 2012 by then Governor Rick Perry; he became the first African-American Commissioner of Education in Texas history. On October 15, 2015, Williams announced that he would step down as Education Commissioner at the end of the year to return to the private sector. The 200-mile one-way commute from his home in Arlington to the state capital in Austin had become too taxing to remain in the position, Williams said. Perry's successor, Governor Greg Abbott, named Mike Morath as Williams' successor in the position.

Political campaigns and activities

Williams addressed the 2004 Republican National Convention, at which he endorsed the reelection of President George W. Bush. He also spoke at the 2008 Republican National Conventionin Minneapolis, Minnesota, where he endorsed the party nominee, U.S. Senator John McCain of Arizona, for president.

In 2000, Williams won a two-year unexpired term on the Railroad Commission without Democratic opposition. He defeated the Libertarian Anthony Garcia and the Green Party candidate, Charles L. Mauch. Williams received 3,600,967 votes (77 percent) to Garcia's 740,340 ballots (15.8 percent) and Mauch's 334,706 votes (7.2 percent).

In 2002, Williams won a full six-year term on the Commission. He polled 2,407,036 votes (54.8 percent) to 1,821,751 (41.5 percent) for Democrat Sherry Boyles. Two other candidates received a total of 162,482 votes (4.7 percent).

Williams ran for re-election for a second full six-year term to the Texas Railroad Commission in November 2008. He won the Republican nomination in March 2008 in an unopposed contest. Williams was re-elected with 52 percent of the vote, having defeated the Democratic candidate, Mark Thompson, and Libertarian candidate David Floyd.

Williams' effective use of social media tools earned him a Texas Social Media Award.

2012 Congressional race

Main article: United States House of Representatives elections in Texas, 2012

On, December 16, 2008 Michael Williams announced via Twitter that he would seek a position in the United States Senate, noting the possibility of a special election in 2009 or 2010 to replace sitting U.S. Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison, who was challenging Texas Gov. Rick Perry in a 2010 Republican primary. Hutchison, however, did not resign her Senate seat even after losing the primary. On January 13, 2011, Hutchison announced that she would not run for re-election in 2012. In July 2011, Williams decided not to run for the Senate, but to seek the new 25th Congressional district seat. Williams finished fifth among twelve candidates in the House primary, having polled 5,387 votes (10.5 percent). The leading candidate, Roger Williams, with 12,888 votes (25.1 percent), then won the party runoff and the general election.

Personal life

Williams is a 1971 graduate of Robert E. Lee High School in Midland. He is the son of public school teachers. He earned bachelor's and master's degrees from the University of Southern California in Los Angeles. He also obtained his Juris Doctor degree from the USC Law School in Los Angeles. He is married to Donna Williams, who resides in Arlington, Texas. He is a brother of the University of Texas chapter of Sigma Phi Epsilon.

Williams is a past Honorary State Chairman of Big Brothers Big Sisters of Texas, which helps to enrich, encourage, and empower children through safe, positive, one-to-one mentoring relationships. He also has served in a volunteer capacity as the general counsel of the Republican Party of Texas, the chairman of the Texas Juvenile Probation Commission and on the board of directors of the Arlington Chamber of Commerce, the Texas Public Policy Foundation, and Our Mother of Mercy Catholic School.

References

  1. ^ Nomination : hearing before the Committee on Labor and Human Resources, United States Senate, One Hundred First Congress, second session, on Michael L. Williams, of Texas, to be Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights, Department of Education, May 23, 1990. 4.L 11/4:S.hrg.101-797 (1990)
  2. The United States Government Manual (1988–1989), page 472
  3. The United States Government Manual (1991–1992), page 476
  4. "Michael Williams". dornsife.usc.edu. Retrieved July 17, 2024.
  5. ^ Smith, Morgan. Michael Williams to Head Texas Education Agency, Texas Tribune, August 27, 2012.
  6. ^ Lauren McGaughy, "Education commissioner to leave post at year's end: Williams says commute took toll", San Antonio Express-News, October 16, 2015, pp. A3, A5
  7. ^ Answering The Call Archived 2012-10-24 at the Wayback Machine, Michael Williams for U.S. Congress, July 29, 2011.
  8. ^ Ramsey, Ross (July 29, 2011). "Williams Pulls a Switch". Texas Tribune. Retrieved July 30, 2011.
  9. Austin American Statesman, December 22, 1998
  10. Commissioner of Education Michael L. Williams, Texas Education Agency, August 27, 2012.
  11. "Election History". Texas Secretary of State. Archived from the original on 2014-01-09. Retrieved 2010-03-26.
  12. Dana Chiodo. "2008 Texas Election Results". The Texas Prosperity Project. Archived from the original on 2011-07-17. Retrieved 2010-03-26.
  13. "Texas Social Media Award Winners". Austin American-Statesman. Retrieved 2010-03-26.
  14. "White, Williams plan Senate race". Associated Press. 2008-12-16. Retrieved 2010-03-26.
  15. Ramsey, Ross (June 28, 2011). "Williams Drops Senate Bid to Run for Congress". Texas Tribune. Retrieved June 28, 2011.

External links

Preceded byCarole Keeton Strayhorn Texas Railroad Commissioner
1999–2011 		Succeeded byBarry Smitherman
Preceded byRobert Scott Commissioner of the Texas Education Agency
2012–2015 		Succeeded byMike Morath
Railroad Commissioners of Texas
Seat 1
Seat 2
Seat 3
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