By Brandon Moseley
Alabama Political Reporter
Alabama State Senator Phil Williams announced on Thursday that he was seeking another term representing Alabama’s tenth senate district. The Rainbow City Republican cited a desire to continue to work to bring jobs and growth to the area, as well as to represent the conservative values of the local communities.
Senator Williams said, “It has been a great honor to serve the people of Senate District 10 these past few years. We have accomplished so much of what the people in our communities said they wanted, and my intent is to continue the fight for conservative values and finish what we’ve started. With Barack Obama and the liberals in Washington, D.C. taking our country in the wrong direction, it has never been more important to elect conservatives who will take a stand on behalf of our state. I give my word to the people of Senate District 10 that I will never back down to those attacking our values and our way of life.”
Senator Williams listed a number of accomplishments including: the repeal of the 2007 legislative pay raise, defense of 2nd Amendment rights, the reduction in size of state government, the defense of the unborn, job creation and small business growth legislation, balanced budgets, and the ability of parents to choose the best school for their child’s educational needs.
Sen. Williams said, “I’m a believer in service to one’s community and the State Senate is an extension of that philosophy. Serving my District as a Senator is one of the most rewarding experiences of my life and I look forward to continuing to promote the conservative movement in the years to come.”
Sen. Williams is currently the Chairman of the Senate committee for Fiscal Responsibility and Accountability and is the Vice Chairman for the General Fund which deals with all non-education government budgets. In May 2011 Williams was named a Rising Republican Star by the Alabama Republican Party. ALGOP wrote:
“One of the most promising freshman Senators in Montgomery is Phil Williams of Rainbow City. He is the proud sponsor of the Alabama Jobs Creation and Retention Act, which provides tax incentives to new or existing businesses that engage in industrial projects. Sen. Williams said, ‘This Act will help make Alabama a center of gravity for new and existing business growth, and is another example of our Republican-led senate following through on our campaign promises.’ ”
Senator Williams is a graduate of the University of South Alabama and has a law degree from the Birmingham School of Law. Sen. Williams is also an Airborne Ranger with 24 years of military service and holds the rank of Lieutenant Colonel in the Alabama National Guard. Williams has served in combat tours in both Iraq and Afghanistan as well as one tour in the Pentagon on the Army’s staff Special Operations Division. Williams has been awarded two Bronze Stars for his service in Iraq and Afghanistan. Senator Williams has his own legal practice in Gadsden. Prior to practicing law, Williams was in full-time ministry with the youth outreach program, Younglife.
He has been married to Charlene for 26 years and together they have two children, Josh who serves as an officer in the U.S. Army and Caitlin who is a senior at Auburn U. The Williams have lived in Etowah County for 19 years.
Currently District 10 includes all of Etowah County and most of Cherokee County. Reapportionment will expand District 10 into neighboring St. Clair and DeKalb Counties, representing 130,000 constituents stretching across four counties.
Williams said in his statement, “I’m excited about the growth of the District. I travel my current District quite often and have strong relationships throughout. The moment I found out that my territory would expand to include DeKalb and St. Clair Counties I began reaching out to my new communities as well. I have already spent significant time in the new areas, and I am humbled by the response that I’ve been given in both St. Clair and Dekalb. They will make great additions to the District!”
Williams was first elected to the Alabama State Senate in 2010 as part of the Republican wave that swept out a century of Democratic control of the Alabama legislature. Williams defeated longtime incumbent Larry Means (D) who was indicted in the federal bingo corruption trial 20,429 to 17,459. Means was eventually acquitted on all counts and is currently the Mayor of Attalla, a position he held from 1992-1998 before Means election to the Senate.
