Anthony A. Williams facts for kids

Anthony Allen Williams (born Anthony Stephen Eggleton on July 28, 1951) is an American politician. He served as the Mayor of the District of Columbia for two terms, from 1999 to 2007. Before becoming mayor, Williams was the chief financial officer (CFO) for the District of Columbia. In this role, he helped balance the city's budget and even created a surplus. He also held various important jobs in other cities and states across the country. Since 2012, he has been the chief executive officer of the Federal City Council, an organization that works to improve Washington, D.C.

Quick facts for kids Tony Williams
Mayor of the District of Columbia
In office January 2, 1999 – January 2, 2007
Preceded by	Marion Barry
Succeeded by	Adrian Fenty
Personal details
Born	Anthony Stephen Eggleton (1951-07-28) July 28, 1951 (age 73) Los Angeles, California, U.S.
Political party	Democratic
Spouse	Diane Simmons
Children	1
Education	Santa Clara University Yale University (BA) U.S. Air Force Academy Preparatory School Harvard University (MPP, JD)
Military service
Allegiance	United States
Branch/service	United States Air Force
Years of service	1971–1974
Unit	93rd Bombardment Group

Early Life and Education

Anthony Williams was born in Los Angeles, California, on July 28, 1951. When he was three years old, he was adopted by Virginia and Lewis Williams. They raised him and seven other children in their home. Williams grew up in the West Adams area of Los Angeles.

He went to Loyola High School and then Santa Clara University. At Santa Clara, he was active in the movement against the Vietnam War. He was also president of his sophomore class. However, his grades suffered, and he eventually left school.

Military Service and Return to School

After leaving Santa Clara, Williams joined the United States Air Force. He wanted to go to Vietnam but stayed in the U.S. to work as an aide. He tried to get into the United States Air Force Academy but was sent to the academy's preparatory school instead because of his grades. He did very well there and earned a spot at the academy. However, Williams decided to leave the Air Force as a conscientious objector, which means he opposed war for moral or religious reasons. He received an honorable discharge in 1974.

After the Air Force, he taught piano and art to blind children. He also counseled veterans of the Vietnam War in Los Angeles. In 1975, he enrolled at Yale University. He used his veteran's benefits to help pay for his education. He briefly left Yale to start a map business, but it didn't succeed. He returned to Yale in 1979. In 1982, he graduated with high honors, earning a Bachelor of Arts degree in Political Science. He then went on to Harvard Law School and the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University. In 1987, he earned both a law degree (J.D.) and a Master of Public Policy degree.

Public Service Career

Before becoming mayor, Williams held several important government jobs. He served as the Deputy Connecticut State Comptroller in Connecticut. He was also the executive director of the Community Development Agency in St. Louis, Missouri. Later, he became the assistant director of the Boston Redevelopment Authority. He also taught as a professor at Columbia University.

President Bill Clinton appointed Williams to be the first Chief Financial Officer (CFO) for the US Department of Agriculture. The U.S. Senate confirmed his appointment. He also helped start and was Vice Chairman of the U.S. CFO Council.

Early Political Steps

Williams first ran for office in 1979 while he was a student at Yale. He was elected to the New Haven, Connecticut, Board of Aldermen. He served until 1982 and was even President Pro-Tempore, meaning he led the board when the president was absent.

Williams became well-known in Washington, D.C., as the city's Chief Financial Officer (CFO). Mayor Marion Barry appointed him to this position in 1995. At that time, Washington, D.C., was facing a huge money crisis. The U.S. Congress had created a special financial control board to oversee the city's money. This board also created the CFO position, which had direct control over the city's daily financial operations. The CFO was independent from the mayor's office.

This independence gave Williams a lot of power. He worked with the Control Board and Congress to fix D.C.'s finances. The city went from a $355 million deficit (meaning it owed more money than it had) in 1995 to a $185 million surplus (meaning it had more money than it owed) by 1997.

Running for Mayor

Williams' success in fixing the city's money problems made him very popular. In 1998, Mayor Barry decided not to run for a fifth term. Williams then decided to run for mayor, resigning from his CFO job to campaign. He quickly became the leading candidate. In September, he won the Democratic primary election with 50% of the votes. In November, he won the general election by a large margin. He had not held an elected office since 1982. After he was elected, the Control Board began to give back much of the power it had taken from the mayor's office.

First Term as Mayor (1999-2003)

During his first term, Mayor Williams continued to improve the city's finances. The city had budget surpluses every year. This allowed the financial control board to end its oversight two years earlier than planned. He also brought about $40 billion in investments to the city. Many new projects and services came to neighborhoods that needed them.

By 2001, property values in Washington, D.C., were rising steadily. The city was experiencing a boom in real estate investment for homes, businesses, and stores. Congress officially dissolved the Financial Control Board in September 2001. In 2002, an international group of real estate investors named Washington, D.C., the best city in the world for real estate investment. It held this top spot in 2003 and 2004 as well.

However, some lower-income residents felt left out. During his first term, the city began to experience gentrification. This is when wealthier people move into an area, causing property values and rents to rise. Long-time residents sometimes found it too expensive to stay in their homes and had to move to nearby areas. Also, as a way to save money, Williams proposed closing the inpatient services at D.C. General Hospital, the city's only public hospital. The D.C. Council initially voted against this, but the Control Board later overturned their decision.

Second Term as Mayor (2003-2007)

In 2002, Williams ran for re-election. There were some issues with the signatures collected to put his name on the Democratic Primary ballot. As a result, his name was removed from the ballot. He had to run as a write-in candidate, meaning people had to write his name on the ballot. Despite this challenge, Williams won both the Democratic and Republican primaries as a write-in candidate. He then went on to win the general election and was re-elected.

During his second term, Williams continued to stabilize the District's finances. The city balanced its budget for ten years in a row, from 1997 to 2006. The city's money reserves grew from a deficit of $518 million in 1996 to a surplus of nearly $1.6 billion in 2005. During this time, the city's bond ratings improved significantly.

Williams played a key role in bringing a Major League Baseball (MLB) team, the Montréal Expos, to Washington, D.C. He faced some opposition from the D.C. Council, but he eventually succeeded. In late 2004, the Council approved a plan to finance a new stadium. The new team, the Washington Nationals, began playing in April 2005. This was the first time since 1971 that the nation's capital had its own MLB team.

While in office, Williams was elected president of the National League of Cities in December 2004. In January 2005, he was elected Vice Chair of the Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments (COG).

Williams did face some criticism. Some people criticized his international travel. Others pointed out that he did not buy a home in D.C. himself, even though he encouraged other residents to buy homes in the city. Some residents and D.C. Council members also criticized the deal he made for the new baseball stadium, saying it gave too much to MLB and didn't set a clear spending limit for public money.

Williams was the first sitting mayor of Washington since 1973 to speak at a Presidential funeral. In 2004, he spoke at Ronald Reagan's funeral, which was held at Washington National Cathedral. His final speech as mayor also took place at the Cathedral in 2006.

On September 28, 2005, Williams announced that he would not seek re-election in 2006. He supported Council Chair Linda W. Cropp as his successor. However, Cropp lost to Ward 4 Councilmember Adrian Fenty in the Democratic primary. Fenty then won the general election.

Career After Politics

In January 2007, Williams partnered with an investment bank to form Primum Public Realty Trust. This company focused on buying and leasing back government and non-profit real estate. In 2009, Williams announced he was stepping down as CEO, and the company was dissolved. He then joined a D.C. law firm, Arent Fox, in May 2009. In this role, he helped governments and cities secure money and manage their budgets.

Williams has also been involved in local education efforts. He served on the boards of non-profit organizations like D.C. Children First and the national non-profit Alliance for School Choice.

In March 2008, Williams bought a home in D.C., a condominium on the H Street NE corridor, which was being revitalized.

Williams was a member of the Debt Reduction Task Force at the Bipartisan Policy Center. In 2012, he joined the board of directors of the Bank of Georgetown.

In April 2012, Williams was appointed the chief executive officer/executive director of the Federal City Council. This private organization, founded in 1954, includes business, civic, and educational leaders. They work to promote economic development and improve the quality of life in Washington, D.C. It is considered one of the most influential groups in the city.

Legacy and Honors

Tony Williams is generally seen as a moderate politician. He had good relationships with Congress, the White House, businesses, labor unions, and the community. He was known for his intellectual and organized approach, especially when compared to previous mayors. He is also known for wearing his signature bow tie.

In 1997, Governing Magazine named him "Public Official of the Year."

Thanks to growth in local money from taxes, Williams managed the city's resources to improve services, lower tax rates, and invest in infrastructure and human services. This led to big improvements in how the city managed its money and collected taxes. After many years of losing residents, Washington, D.C., began to see a steady growth in its population. In 2004, Black Enterprise magazine named Washington, D.C., the second-best city in the country for African Americans to live and work. This was due to its housing, jobs, health care, and economic development.

Under Williams' leadership, the city's crime rate dropped significantly. By the end of his time in office, hotels reported very low vacancy rates, meaning they were almost always full. Real estate values in the District remained high, even when trends in other areas were going down.

On Williams' last day in office in 2006, a columnist for The Washington Post, Colbert I. King, wrote that Williams left behind a city with good financial standing, plenty of cash reserves, better healthcare access, promising neighborhood projects, a major league baseball team, and a new stadium being built. He added that the city was no longer "the laughingstock of the nation." King noted that under Williams, the District went through its biggest transformation in generations. Williams encouraged investments that helped clean up and improve a city that had been struggling.

Williams is credited with setting the stage for the city's continued improvements. His last day as mayor happened to be the same day as the Washington funeral of Gerald Ford.

Personal Life

In 1999, journalist Gene Weingarten wrote an article about Williams for The Washington Post. Weingarten later said that Williams "had shown a side of himself absolutely no one knew, a sense of humor so shrewd and adroit he was way ahead of me the whole time." He described Williams as "an incredibly, organically, wryly funny man who has turned self deprecation into an art form. He also believes deeply in civic responsibility."

Williams is Catholic.

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  Tony Williams