Steve Williams | |
---|---|
Mayor of Huntington | |
Assumed office January 1, 2013 | |
Preceded by | Kim Wolfe |
Member of the West Virginia House of Delegates | |
In office December 1,1986 –December 1,1994 | |
Succeeded by | Evan Jenkins |
Constituency | 13th district (1986–1992) 16th district (1992–1994) |
Personal details | |
Born | 1955or1956(age 67–68) |
Political party | Democratic |
Education | Marshall University (BA) West Virginia University (MPA) |
Website | Official website Campaign website |
Stephen T. Williams (born 1955/1956) [1] is an American politician who is the current mayor of Huntington,West Virginia. Williams previously served as Huntington's city manager,a member of the West Virginia House of Delegates,and a member of the Huntington City Council. On September 4,2023,he became the first Democrat to declare candidacy for governor of West Virginia in the 2024 West Virginia gubernatorial election,and subsequently won the nomination. [2]
Williams attended Huntington High School,graduating in 1974. He received a Bachelor of Arts in political science from Marshall University in 1978 and a Master of Public Administration degree from West Virginia University in 1980. [3]
Williams played four years of football at Marshall University. [4]
Williams served as director of economic development for Huntington in 1984 and worked as city manager from 1984 to 1985. From 1987 to 1994,he was a member of the West Virginia House of Delegates for Cabell County and Wayne County. [3] He previously ran for mayor in 1993,defeating incumbent mayor Bobby Nelson in the Democratic primary,but lost to his Republican opponent,Councilwoman Jean Dean. [5]
Williams returned to politics in 2008 when he won election as an at-large member of the Huntington City Council,where he served until his election as mayor in 2012. On June 19,2017,Williams announced that he would stand in the 2018 race for West Virginia's 3rd congressional district,which was an open seat after the incumbent congressman,Evan Jenkins,declared to run against Joe Manchin for the Senate. [6] On January 19,2018,Williams dropped out of the race. [7]
Williams's campaign against his predecessor,Kim Wolfe,in the 2012 mayoral election marked the first time a sitting city official challenged an incumbent mayor since Huntington switched to a strong mayor form of government in 1985. [8]
In March 2013,Williams signed an ordinance passed by the Huntington City Council which rescinded a 1% occupation tax which had been the subject of a lawsuit filed in 2011 against the city. The tax had been imposed under a West Virginia initiative which granted several cities,including Huntington,increased home rule,including increased powers to change their tax structures. [9] [10]
During the spring and summer of 2013,Williams's administration organized a citywide cleanup effort and planned increased enforcement of local ordinances like those that prohibited tall grass and the storage of furniture and construction materials in yards or on porches. [11] The city planned to hire additional code enforcement officers,reinstate the Fire Department's Fire Prevention Bureau and seek the ability to issue citations on-the-spot,rather than after a ten-day warning period,from the West Virginia State Legislature. The mayor directed the city government to design and implement a system to ensure all new graffiti in the city is removed within 24 hours. [12]
Williams has supported the continued redevelopment of the Central City Market in Huntington's West End,drawing inspiration from the management of the Capitol Market in Charleston. [13]
In 2017 under Williams' direction,the City of Huntington sued eight pharmaceutical companies,claiming their products harmed Huntington's welfare,leading to a drug crisis in the city and surrounding county. [14] Included in the lawsuits are companies like McKesson Corp.,Cardinal Health and AmerisourceBergen Drug Corp,among others. [15]
Williams is married to Mary Poindexter Williams and has two step-daughters. He serves as an officer of various organizations affiliated with Marshall University and attends Trinity Episcopal Church. [3]
Williams has been featured on the television adaptation of the podcast My Brother,My Brother and Me . In the show,Williams is consulted by Justin McElroy,Travis McElroy,and Griffin McElroy regularly,including discussions of whether the three can be named honorary mayors or host a tarantula-themed parade in downtown Huntington. [16]
Huntington is a city in Cabell and Wayne counties in the U.S. state of West Virginia. The county seat of Cabell County,the city is located at the confluence of the Ohio and Guyandotte rivers. Huntington is the second-most populous city in West Virginia,with a population of 46,842 as of the 2020 census. Its metro area,the Huntington–Ashland metropolitan area,is the largest in West Virginia,spanning seven counties across three states and having a population of 376,155 at the 2020 census.
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Evan Hollin Jenkins is an American politician and judge. He served as a justice of the Supreme Court of Appeals of West Virginia,joining the Court in 2018 and serving as chief justice in 2021. He resigned from the court on February 4,2022. He served as a U.S. Representative from West Virginia from 2015 to 2018. He is a Republican,having switched his party affiliation from Democratic in 2013.
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The 2010 United States Senate special election in West Virginia was held on November 2,2010. Incumbent Democratic Senator Robert Byrd died in office on June 28,2010. Democratic Governor Joe Manchin appointed Carte Goodwin to temporarily fill the vacancy. Goodwin pledged to not run for election to the seat in exchange for the appointment. This was the first open U.S. Senate seat in West Virginia since 1984 and the first in this seat since 1956. Manchin won the open seat and served out the remainder of Byrd's elected term,which ended on January 3,2013.
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James Conley Justice II is an American businessman and politician who has served as the 36th governor of West Virginia since 2017. Justice was once a billionaire,but his net worth had declined to $513.3 million as of 2021. He inherited a coal mining business from his father and built a business empire with 94 companies,including the Greenbrier,a luxury resort in White Sulphur Springs.
Roger Wayne Marshall is an American politician,physician,and former military officer serving as the junior United States senator from Kansas since 2021. A member of the Republican Party,he served from 2017 to 2021 as the U.S. representative for Kansas's 1st congressional district,a mostly rural district covering much of the western and northern parts of the state.
The 2018 United States House of Representatives elections in West Virginia were held on November 6,2018,to elect the three U.S. representatives from the West Virginia,one from each of the state's three congressional districts. The filing deadline was January 27,2018. The primary elections were held on May 8,2018. The elections coincided with the other elections to the House of Representatives,elections to the United States Senate and various state and local elections.
The 2024 United States elections are scheduled to be held on Tuesday,November 5,2024. During this presidential election year,the president and vice president will be elected. In addition,all 435 seats in the United States House of Representatives and 34 of the 100 seats in the United States Senate will be contested to determine the membership of the 119th United States Congress. Thirteen state and territorial governorships and numerous other state and local elections will also be contested.
The following is a timeline of the history of the city of Huntington,West Virginia,USA.
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Ravinder Singh Bhalla,often simply called Ravi Bhalla,is an American civil rights lawyer and politician,serving as the 39th Mayor of Hoboken,New Jersey,since 2018. Prior to becoming mayor,he served on the Hoboken City Council from 2009 to 2018. In 2017,he was elected as New Jersey's first Sikh mayor. A Democrat,Bhalla is a candidate for New Jersey's 8th congressional district in the 2024 election.
Sydnee McElroy is an American family medicine physician,assistant professor in family medicine at the Marshall University School of Medicine,and podcast host of Sawbones and Still Buffering.
The 2024 West Virginia gubernatorial election will be held on November 5,2024,to elect the governor of West Virginia,concurrently with the 2024 U.S. presidential election,as well as elections to the United States Senate and elections to the United States House of Representatives and various state and local elections. Republican State Attorney General Patrick Morrisey is running against Huntington Mayor Steve Williams for Governor. Incumbent Jim Justice is term-limited and cannot seek re-election to a third consecutive term in office;he is instead running for the U.S. Senate. First elected in 2016 as a Democrat by 6.8 percentage points,Justice switched parties in August 2017 and won re-election in 2020 as a Republican by 33.3 percentage points. Primary elections took place on May 14,2024.
The 2024 Huntington,West Virginia municipal election will be held on November 5,2024,to elect members of the city council and mayor.