By Brandon Moseley
Alabama Political Reporter
Saturday, September 30, 2017, Audri Scott Williams, Global Trustee for URI (United Religions Initiative) announced that she was running as a Democrat for Alabama’s Second Congressional Seat in 2018. That seat is currently held by U.S. Representative Martha Roby, R-Montgomery.
Williams said in a statement, “I’m running because we’ve been neglected by politicians who’ve placed party interests before public interests. We’ve been neglected by those in power who looked away from the lost factories and underpaying jobs, who turned a blind eye to rising premiums and the return of preexisting conditions, who let our veterans languish in conditions that are beneath their service, and who’ve normalized the lack of accountability in Washington.“
“I stand with ordinary people,” Williams continues, “who are willing to do the extraordinary work necessary to create an Alabama, and a nation, where prosperity and the benefits of entrepreneurship aren’t just concentrated with the few. I stand with those who believe, as I do, that the promise of an Alabama where all are equal has to be more than just words.”
Williams said, “To those who long for a politics that speaks to their needs instead of fueling their anxieties; to those who’ve found their voices choked by politicians that have confused neglect for governance; to those who reside on the margins of their counties and cities, feeling a despair that’s not reflected by their peers or their leaders, I come before you with these words: We are here. We are here. We are the change!”
Williams predicted, “The change that will shape the future of Alabama and America was never going to come from Washington; it was never going to descend from a great leader who would make our struggle disappear. Change is always going to come from the union worker in a right to work state that didn’t see the law as something that changed their right to a livable wage, fair benefits and workplace protections. Change is always going to come from the nurses and home care providers, who know their patients are more important than the costs of treating them. Change is always going to come from the seniors on Medicare who are tired of the threat that it will be cut; and from the worker who finds that working 50 hour weeks in multiple jobs will not pay their bills; and from the student who sees their debt piling up sooner than they can see their job prospects. Change is always going to come from you.”
“As we languish and labor in a political environment where the wealthy seems as hostile to our interests as they are to the poor and the sick that Jesus called “the least of these,” we must remember that the rich and the forces of regression don’t have the final say over what America becomes – we do. Politics is not only formed in the backrooms where the elites operate; it’s fashioned on the streets and in your communities, where your ethnicity, your citizenship status, your gender or your partner matters less than your willingness to create an America that’s equal to its promise, and that sees all people as equally deserving to share in that promise. We can no longer afford to let the challenges of the era limit the freedom and justice promised in our founding creed. This moment demands of us a vision that sees beyond what’s possible, and focuses on organizing to secure what’s necessary. We must look to the horizon and see both the universal healthcare that is our right and the thankless canvassing and party-building that must be done to make it a reality. We must see through the suspicion that is our habit, and see in those we hold in suspicion the partners who will strengthen our communities and our country in kind. We must commit ourselves to walking the steps between where we stand and where we need to be; ensuring that we knock on doors, register, vote and meet while never forgetting the gaps in racial justice, income inequality and gender inequities that should motivate every step toward their end.”
Williams added, “I am running for congress not as a dreamer, but as a leader who thinks that part of leadership is to outline the undone and do it. Because this is not just the Alabama of the Klan and Jim Crow, this is also the Alabama of the Civil Rights Movement that challenged them both. It’s the Alabama my mentor, Amelia Boynton Robinson, saw and organized to create, even after she was beaten on Bloody Sunday. And even in the face of an Attorney General Sessions, a possible Senator Roy Moore and a President Trump, it’s the Alabama I see now.”
Williams is a former U.S. Army Reservist, former Dean at Charles County Community College, Author, World Peace Walker, and activist. She is a mother of three sons, a grandmother of 14, and is in a loving relationship with her life partner of 15 years.
Williams said that she has been a servant of the people locally, nationally, and internationally for over three decades. Williams said that she has fought against religious persecution of Christians, Jews and Muslims in foreign countries, served with distinction in our nation’s armed forces, committed herself to civic engagement through activism and stayed firm to the principles of faith, community, equality and family. She has received numerous awards for her service to humanity, including a “Service to Humanity” award from President William J. Clinton (D).
The major party primaries will be on June 5, 2018.
