Lisa Williams (Tennessee)

This page was current at the end of the individual's last campaign covered by Ballotpedia. Please contact us with any updates.

Lisa Williams

Nonpartisan

Elections and appointments

Last election

August 3, 2023

Education

Bachelor's

Crichton College, 1997

Personal

Birthplace

Sioux City, Iowa

Religion

Christian

Profession

Homemaker

Contact

Campaign website

Campaign Facebook

Lisa Williams ran for election to the Nashville Metro Council to represent District 23 in Tennessee. She lost in the general election on August 3, 2023.

Williams completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2023. Click here to read the survey answers.

Biography

Lisa Williams was born in Sioux City, Iowa. She earned a bachelor's degree from Crichton College in 1997. Her career experience includes working in marketing and communications at QuinStreet. Williams has also worked at the NASA Ames Research Center and as a medical researcher at Vanderbilt University Medical Center.

Williams had been affiliated with the following organizations:

• Junior League of Nashville
• Women's Club of Nashville
• NSDAR
• NSCDA
• Girl Scouts of America
• Scouts USA (Boy Scouts)

Elections

2023

See also: City elections in Nashville, Tennessee (2023)

General election

General election for Nashville Metro Council District 23

Incumbent Thom Druffel defeated Lisa Williams in the general election for Nashville Metro Council District 23 on August 3, 2023.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Thom Druffel (Nonpartisan)	77.0	3,546
		Lisa Williams (Nonpartisan)	22.8	1,050
		Other/Write-in votes	0.3	12

---

	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 4,608
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Endorsements

To view Williams's endorsements as published by their campaign, click here. Ballotpedia did not identify endorsements for Williams in this election.

Campaign themes

2023

Ballotpedia survey responses

See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection

Lisa Williams completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2023. The survey questions appear in bold and are followed by Williams' responses. Candidates are asked three required questions for this survey, but they may answer additional optional questions as well.

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Who are you? Tell us about yourself.

My career path has taken me from NASA, to Vanderbilt University Medical Center, to being a stay-at-home mom. In each of these opportunities, I had to be quick to learn and always be ready to problem-solve. As your Metro Council person, I will be here to listen to your needs and concerns while working to ensure that Nashville grows in a way to build a better city for the future of our families.

I bring a down-to-earth approach to finding the best solutions to our city's growth challenges.

Unlike many of the current Metro Council members, my focus will be primarily on our community, as I will not be splitting my time between multiple employments.

Please list below 3 key messages of your campaign. What are the main points you want voters to remember about your goals for your time in office?

• We must address our transportation and housing needs if Nashville is to continue to grow and flourish
• As we have grown, we have lagged behind in staffing our First Responder units. Nashville must expand our Fire and Police departments.
• Even more importantly, as Nashville has expanded we have more children in our city and must increase our educator workforce..

Community Question Featured local question

Do you believe crime rates are changing? Where do you get your crime rate data from? Would you make any changes to existing public safety policy?

Sadly the crime rates do seem to be changing in my district. Nashville is an outlier in some ways, our raw numbers on crime are up, but so is our population so the percentages for crime are down.

That said it is hard to ignore the up tick in thefts and other crimes that are closer to my home than in past years. After talking at length to friends on the police force and reviewing the public reports released by my precinct commander, yes unfortunately crime is on the rise in Nashville.

Nashville policy is not the key issue, our police force is understaffed. And with the call for SRO placement in all schools this will be more so as the school year begins in August.

Community Question Featured local question

How important is it to involve residents in the government’s decision-making process? What plans do you have regarding resident involvement in this process?

It is vitally important to work closely with my neighbors to represent their needs as their Metro Council Representative. This will be accomplished via monthly District 23 meetings. I currently offer an Ask Lisa Anything portal on my website and will continue to do so when elected. Communication is key to the democratic process.

Community Question Featured local question

How would you address crime and public safety? Do you have a different stance than current city council policy?

Nashville needs to have an aggressive public safety campaign to convince those who think of themselves as law-abiding gun owners to actually abide by the law and lock up their guns rather than provide easier access to criminals including expanding the Metro Health Department’s gun lock-by-mail program. Through this program free gun locks are available by mail to anyone who orders one, and the MNPD can equip all of their patrol officers with free locks to distribute as part of their work in the community.

Mayor Cooper set a goal to fully fund the police department, now we need to ramp up staffing to meet the demands of our population numbers. Our Police Academy has been steadily working to train new officers but we must retain and recruit more people for this to be a viable level of care for our community.

Community Question Featured local question

What do you think about the city's environmental health? Would you make any changes to current policy?

Nashville is dancing along the edge of being a sustainable city. We are so close yet there is so much we can do to improve.

We must improve how we offer public transportation by expanding it to a greater area and number of residents. This goes hand in hand with the burgeoning walk/bike Nashville movement. Many of our neighborhoods are walkable but not suitable for walk/bike commuting. We need to expand and promote pedestrian bridges, and bike path networks. Our Greenway system is a good start but currently is incomplete. Nashville will need to expand alternate energy options, offer more vehicle charging stations, and encourage Green building practices. There are many many options to incorporate Green buildings in our city some popular ways green buildings address these areas include: Smart heating and cooling systems, Natural building materials, Enhanced ventilation and insulation, Solar panels, Green roofs.

Additionally, Nashville will need to explore expanding urban farming in Davidson Metro area. We do have several garden groups, and we have space to form more. This can also be incorporated into a green roof plan along with rain water reclamation.

Community Question Featured local question

What plans do you have regarding infrastructure?

Nashville is playing catch up when it comes to infrastructure. We have experienced a building boom and infill that is impressive by any measure. And with this level of growth we unfortunately have not always taken the care and time to replace the aged portion of our infrastructure.

In the future the Metro council will need to correct this by repairing and upgrading section of city that are experiencing the most strain. But in the most recent administration there has been an acknowledgment of this need and the start of these corrections has begun. the resident of Nashville are calling for this to be a priority and I will work to make sure that our crumbling road ways and lagging storm water evacuation is addressed.

What areas of public policy are you personally passionate about?

Ensuring that our city is better tomorrow and for the future. To do this we will need to continue to build in a way to strengthen our city and expanding our transportation offerings in a thoughtful way.

What qualities does this office possess that makes it a unique and important part of the state government and legal system?

The council members are the voice of the people in their district. It is the closest to the people of all elected positions and being able to be that go between is vital to a city running well.

Who do you look up to? Whose example would you like to follow, and why?

I am inspired tremendously by the work of Paul Farmer. After spending a short amount of time in Haiti as a volunteer at Hopital Albert Schweitzer in 2005 I was introduced to his work via the book Mountains Beyond Mountains. One of his statements that sticks with me is "The idea that some lives matter less is the root of all that is wrong with the world"

Is there a book, essay, film, or something else you would recommend to someone who wants to understand your political philosophy?

I mentioned earlier in the Ballotpedia questions "Mountains Beyond Mountains" by Tracy Kidder. It is one of the books I recommend to everyone.

What characteristics or principles are most important for an elected official?

A good sense of humor, in this type of collaboration one must be patient and able to work across many peoples needs to find the best long term solutions. There is no fast solution in work of a city or metro area the size of Nashville.

What qualities do you possess that you believe would make you a successful officeholder?

How to narrow it down. Over my experiences I have built a tool box of skills that include listening closely and ferreting out the actual needs of individuals as well as the group. Then taking that information into negotiations that result in all parties having the needed results.

What do you believe are the core responsibilities for someone elected to this office?

First and foremost I am beholden to my district. They have elected their representative to be their voice on issues that touch their lives.

The way this applies is in how I will vote to adjust zoning needs, build and repair infrastructure, and fund the basic needs of our metro area.

What legacy would you like to leave?

When my daughter was turning 10 we had tea at the Hermitage Hotel in downtown Nashville. If you know Nashville history you are familiar with the connection of the 19th amendment and that very hotel. As we walked the lobby and enjoyed the special displays she asked questions, so many questions. Why did they have to make an amendment, why did they wear yellow roses, why didn't girls get to vote?

My goal as a Metro Council person is ensure that every vote is valued, every voice is heard.

What is the first historical event that happened in your lifetime that you remember? How old were you at the time?

Elvis' death. I was three at the time and I remember it being a tremendous sadness for the adults around me.

What was your very first job? How long did you have it?

My first paid job, like many young women, was as a baby sitter. I also spent many summers as a camp counselor in high school and college.

What is your favorite book? Why?

I always have a stack of books I am reading or planning to read. This summer I have indulged in the works of Candice Millard and read four of her historical works. While also reading along with my children's summer reading lists.

But I seem to pick up a few titles over and over again. As I have mentioned before Mountains Beyond Mountains, But I am also an annual reader of A Christmas Carol. The transformation of the characters is encouraging. By the end of the year it is easy to slip into a pattern of Scrooge like thought. But after reflection on friends and family no longer with us the shift to brightness in a new day is always encouraging.

Are there any little-known powers or responsibilities held by this office that you believe more people should be aware of?

Because we are a County-wide Metro Council, we are endowed with the rite to solemnize weddings as sitting and after resigning our seats.

Do you believe that it's beneficial for holders of this office to have previous experience in government or politics?

This is the entry point for many people for elected political work. It is helpful to have volunteered or worked in some capacity in government or political environments.

I volunteered extensively during my college years with GOTV programs and worked at NASA Ames Research Center for many years facilitating technology transfer and am familiar with the processes of these worlds.

Note: Ballotpedia reserves the right to edit Candidate Connection survey responses. Any edits made by Ballotpedia will be clearly marked with [brackets] for the public. If the candidate disagrees with an edit, he or she may request the full removal of the survey response from Ballotpedia.org. Ballotpedia does not edit or correct typographical errors unless the candidate's campaign requests it.

Note: Community Questions were submitted by the public and chosen for inclusion by a volunteer advisory board. The chosen questions were modified by staff to adhere to Ballotpedia’s neutrality standards. To learn more about Ballotpedia’s Candidate Connection Expansion Project, click here.

See also

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Candidate

Nashville Metro Council District 23

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