Michael Williams (Texas Commissioner of Education)
Michael Williams was the Texas Commissioner of Education. He was appointed to the statewide position by Governor Rick Perry following the resignation of long-serving commissioner Robert Scott.[1][2] Scott resigned in early summer of 2012, months after the Texas Legislature decided to cut the public school budget by $5 billion. Williams took office on September 1, 2012.
Williams resigned on October 15, 2015, effective January 1, 2016.[1]
Williams became the first black person to hold a statewide elected position in the Texas history in 1998 when then-Governor George W. Bush appointed him to the Texas Railroad Commission. After his initial appointment, Williams was subsequently re-elected in 2000, 2002 and 2008. He stepped down from the railroad commission in order to pursue an ultimately unsuccessful bid for U.S. House representing the 25th Congressional District of Texas.[3]
Although his post as state education commissioner was nonpartisan, Williams has long been affiliated with the Republican Party. His profile within the party rose over the years due to his work as a prosecutor in the Department of Justice under President Reagan and his dual appointments by former President George H.W. Bush to serve as assistant secretary of education for civil rights at the U.S. Department of Education and as deputy assistant secretary for law enforcement at the U.S. Department of the Treasury.[4] He was also general counsel of the Republican Party of Texas.
Biography
Williams was born and raised in Midland, Texas. After graduating from Robert E. Lee High School in 1971, he moved to out of his home state to continue his education at the University of Southern California, where Williams eventually earned a B.A., an M.A. in public administration and a J.D.[4]
Soon after finishing law school, Williams returned to his hometown of Midland, Texas, to serve as an assistant district attorney. Since then, he has spent most of his career in Texas. Williams' legal resume includes serving with law firm of Haynes & Boone, L.L.P., as the general counsel of the Republican Party of Texas and as the chairman of the Texas Juvenile Probation Commission. He has been an active member of the Texas Republican Party throughout his career. He was a prosecutor in the Department of Justice under President Reagan and was appointed by former President George H.W. Bush to serve as assistant secretary of education for civil rights at the U.S. Department of Education and as deputy assistant secretary for law enforcement at the U.S. Department of the Treasury.[4]
Williams has served as an adjunct professor at Texas Southern University in the School of Public Affairs and Texas Wesleyan School of Law.[4]
Education
- B.A. - University of Southern California
- M.A. - University of Southern California
- J.D. - University of Southern California[4]
Political career
Texas Commissioner of Education (2012-present)
Williams became the Texas Commissioner of Education on September 1, 2012. Governor Rick Perry appointed him following the resignation of long-serving commissioner Robert Scott.Cite error: Closing </ref> missing for <ref> tag[5]
| Candidate | Vote % | Votes |
|---|---|---|
 Roger Williams |
25.1% | 12,894 |
| Wes Riddle |
14.6% | 7,481 |
| Justin Hewlett | 12% | 6,178 |
| Dave Garrison | 11.9% | 6,133 |
| Michael Williams | 10.5% | 5,392 |
| Dianne Costa | 9.4% | 4,810 |
| Brian Matthews | 3.6% | 1,824 |
| Charlie Holcomb | 3.3% | 1,690 |
| Chad Wilbanks | 3.1% | 1,593 |
| Bill Burch | 3.1% | 1,575 |
| James Dillon | 2.3% | 1,174 |
| Ernie Beltz, Jr. | 1.2% | 596 |
| Total Votes | 51,340 | |
2008
On November 4, 2008, Michael L. Williams won re-election to the office of Texas Railroad Commissioner. He defeated Mark Thompson (D) and David Floyd (L) in the general election.
| Texas Railroad Commissioner, 2008 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
| Republican | Michael L. Williams Incumbent |
52.1% | 4,003,789 | |
| Democratic | Mark Thompson | 44.4% | 3,406,174 | |
| Libertarian | David Floyd | 3.5% | 270,078 | |
| Total Votes | 7,680,041 | |||
| Election results via Texas Secretary of State. | ||||
2002
On November 5, 2002, Michael L. Williams won re-election to the office of Texas Railroad Commissioner. He defeated Sherry Boyles (D), Nazirite R. Flores Perez (L) and Charles L. Mauch (G) in the general election.
| Texas Railroad Commissioner, 2002 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
| Republican | Michael L. Williams Incumbent |
54.8% | 2,407,036 | |
| Democratic | Sherry Boyles | 41.5% | 1,821,751 | |
| Libertarian | Nazirite R. Flores Perez | 2.5% | 110,160 | |
| Green | Charles L. Mauch | 1.2% | 52,322 | |
| Total Votes | 4,391,269 | |||
| Election results via Texas Secretary of State. | ||||
Campaign themes
2012
Williams' campaign website listed the following issues:[6]
- Big Government
- Excerpt: "We are made in the image of God and endowed with rights inherited from Him. Government’s primary responsibility is to advance the cause of freedom and promote, protect and secure the inalienable rights that were endowed to us by God."
- Healthcare Reform
- Excerpt: "We want Americans to have access to the best healthcare available at the lowest possible cost while preserving patient choices and increasing individual ownership of healthcare decisions. We should increase the amount of pretax dollars that a family can contribute to Health Savings Accounts and allow them to purchase health insurance, of any type and from any source, tax-free. "
- Energy Security
- Excerpt: "On energy, our motto should be “all of the above.” We should drill for more American oil and natural gas here in America. We should accelerate the commercialization of clean coal technologies with carbon capture and storage, build more nuclear plants to reduce carbon emissions, and expand the utilization of alternative and renewable energy sources."
- Controlling Spending
- Excerpt: "Our children will inherit a legacy of debt, with more debt accumulated under President Obama than the previous 43 presidents combined. We need to bring greater transparency to spending to curtail waste, reform the flawed earmark process, and control the growth of government."
- Cutting Taxes
- Excerpt: "The best tax system helps make poor people rich, not rich people poor. An efficient tax system has a broad tax base and a low tax rate. America has the second highest corporate tax burden in the developed world. We need to unleash the entrepreneurial spirit by cutting taxes and reforming the tax code with a flat tax."
Campaign finance summary
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Personal
Note: Please contact us if the personal information below requires an update.
Williams currently resides in Arlington with his wife, Donna.[7] He is a member of Most Blessed Sacrament Catholic Church.
Recent news
The link below is to the most recent stories in a Google news search for the terms Michael Williams Texas Commissioner Education. These results are automatically generated from Google. Ballotpedia does not curate or endorse these articles.
See also
| Texas | State Executive Elections | News and Analysis |
|---|---|---|
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External links
- Texas Education Agency, "Commissioner's Biography"
- Texas Education Agency, "Office of the Commissioner"
- Texas Education Agency
- Michael Williams: U.S. Congress
- Project Vote Smart, "Michael Williams"
- Facebook, "MichaelWilliamsTX"
- Twitter, "Michael Williams"
- YouTube, "Michael L. Williams"
- Campaign contributions: 2010, 2008, 2006, 2004, 2002, 2000
Footnotes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Austin American-Statesman, "Texas education commissioner will step down Jan. 1," October 15, 2015
- ↑ Anna M. Tinsley, Star-Telegram, "Arlington's Michael Williams appointed new state education commissioner," August 27, 2012, archived November 15, 2012
- ↑ Fort Worth Star-Telegram, "Michael Williams changes congressional races," July 29, 2011, archived December 18, 2011
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 4.4 Michael Williams: U.S. Congress, "Michael's Biography," archived November 8, 2012
- ↑ Texas Secretary of State, "Unofficial Republican primary results," May 29, 2012
- ↑ Michael Williams: U.S. Congress, "On the Issues," archived October 31, 2012
- ↑ Project Vote Smart, "Biography," accessed June 2, 2014
| Political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Robert Scott |
Texas Commissioner of Education 2012-2016 |
Succeeded by Mike Morath |
| ||||||||||||||
