Wayne Williams
Member of the
Colorado Springs City Council
from the at-large district
In office
April 16, 2019 – April 18, 2023
Preceded byMerv Bennett
Succeeded byLynette Crow Iverson
38th Secretary of State of Colorado
In office
January 13, 2015 – January 8, 2019
GovernorJohn Hickenlooper
Preceded byScott Gessler
Succeeded byJena Griswold
Clerk and Recorder of El Paso County, Colorado
In office
2011–2015
Preceded byRobert Balink
Succeeded byChuck Broerman
Member of the
El Paso County Board of County Commissioners
from the 1st district
In office
2003–2011
Succeeded byDarryl Glenn
Personal details
Born
Wayne Warren Williams

(1963-01-19) January 19, 1963
Palo Alto, California, U.S.
Political partyRepublican
SpouseHolly Williams
Children4
EducationBrigham Young University (BA)
University of Virginia (JD)

Wayne Warren Williams[1] (born January 19, 1963)[2] is an American attorney and politician. A member of the Republican Party, he served as an at-large member on the city council of Colorado Springs, Colorado from 2019 to 2023. Before serving on City Council, Williams was the Secretary of State of Colorado from 2015 to 2019.[3][4]

Early life

Williams grew up in the Shenandoah Valley of Virginia.[5] His father was the facilities manager of the National Zoo's Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute, where Williams was raised.[6]

In high school, Williams organized for local Republican Party candidates. He also served as a delegate at the Virginia Republican Party convention.[5] He attended Brigham Young University (BYU) on the Harry S. Truman Scholarship, and graduated in 1985 with a bachelor's degree in political science.[7] He graduated from the University of Virginia School of Law in 1989.[5]

Career

Early career

Williams began practicing employment law and labor law in the Salt Lake City office of Holme Roberts & Owen. He was offered a job with Sherman & Howard in Colorado Springs, Colorado, which he accepted in 1992.[5][6]

Bob Isaac, the mayor of Colorado Springs, appointed Williams to the city's Housing Authority board.[5] Williams served for eight years as an El Paso County Commissioner.He was succeeded by Darryl Glenn on the commission.[8] In 2010, Williams was elected the El Paso County Clerk & Recorder.[9][10]

Secretary of State

In 2014, Scott Gessler, the Secretary of State of Colorado, announced his candidacy for Governor of Colorado in the 2014 Colorado gubernatorial election.[11] Williams ran unopposed for the Republican Party nomination for Secretary of State.[6] He defeated Democratic Party nominee Joe Neguse in the general election, 47.5% to 44.9%.[10][12]

On December 19, 2016 Michael Baca, a Colorado presidential elector, was replaced by Williams with Celeste Landry after Baca failed to vote for Hillary Clinton as he was pledged; Landry voted for Clinton.[13] Two Colorado electors filed suit against Williams in August 2017.

Colorado Secretary of State

In 2017, Williams complied with Donald Trump's request by sending publicly available voter data to the Presidential Advisory Commission on Election Integrity.[14]

Colorado followed nearly every recommendation made by election experts in the wake of Russian interference in the 2016 election prior to the 2018 elections.[15]

On November 6, 2018, Williams lost re-election to Democrat Jena Griswold.[16]

Colorado Springs

In 2019, Williams announced his candidacy for the city council of Colorado Springs, Colorado, in the 2019 elections.[17] He won an at-large seat on the council.[18]

In 2023, Williams was a candidate for mayor of Colorado Springs.[19] In the mayoral election held April 4, 2023, no candidate received more than 50% of the vote, and Williams was one of the top two vote-getters. A runoff election was held between Williams and the other top vote getter, Yemi Mobolade, on May 16.[20][21] Mobolade defeated Williams.[22]

Personal life

Williams and his wife, Holly, met at BYU. They have four children: Sean, Greg, Lindsey, and Wendy.[5]

Electoral history

Results

2023 Colorado Springs mayoral runoff election[23]
Candidate Votes  %
Yemi Mobolade 67,442 57.47
Wayne Williams 49,909 42.53
Total votes 117,351 100.00
2023 Colorado Springs mayoral election[24]
Candidate Votes  %
Yemi Mobolade 32,429 29.81
Wayne Williams 20,908 19.22
Sallie Clark 19,384 17.82
Darryl Glenn 9,470 8.70
Longinos Gonzalez Jr. 8,622 7.93
John Tig Tiegen 5,405 4.97
Andrew Dalby 4,825 4.44
Tom Strand 2,597 2.39
Lawrence Joseph Martinez 1,823 1.68
Christopher Mitchell 1,248 1.15
Kallan Reece Rodebaugh 1,129 1.04
Jim Miller 948 0.87
Total votes 108,788 100.00

2019 Colorado Springs At-Large City Council election

Candidate Votes %
Gordon Klingenschmitt 24,638 11%
Bill Murray 27,677 12%
Val Snider 12,997 6%
Wayne Williams 42,256 19%
Tony Gioia 18,155 8%
Terry Martinez 23,512 11%
Regina English 16,990 8%
Tom Strand 27,842 12%
Randy Tuck 5,981 3%
Athena Roe 15,143 7%
Dennis Spiker 8,410 4%
Colorado Secretary of State Election, 2018
Party Candidate Votes %
Democrat Jena Griswold 1,179,509 51.67
Republican Wayne Williams 1,047,309 45.80
Constitution Amanda Campbell 46,512 2.0
Approval Voting Blake Huber 17,613 0.5
Colorado Secretary of State Election, 2014
Party Candidate Votes %
Republican Wayne Williams 932,588 47.34
Democrat Joe Neguse 886,043 44.98
Constitution Amanda Campbell 77,790 3.95
Libertarian Dave Schambach 73,413 3.73

References

  1. ↑ "Wayne Warren Williams - a Colorado Springs, Colorado (CO) Employment Law Firm".
  2. ↑ Hubbell, Martindale (2001). Martindale Hubbell Law Directory 2001. Martindale-Hubbell. ISBN 9781561604395.
  3. ↑ "Our Campaigns - Colorado Springs City Council - At-large Race - Apr 02, 2019".
  4. ↑ "Mayor, At-Large City Council Members Take Oath of Office at Colorado Springs Swearing-In Ceremony".
  5. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Jamie Swinnerton (July 7, 2014). "Wayne Williams on his run for Secretary of State and the Honey Badger's seat". Westword. Retrieved November 19, 2014.
  6. 1 2 3 Peter Marcus (April 13, 2014). "Williams hopes to succeed fellow Republican Gessler for Secretary of State". The Colorado Statesman. Archived from the original on May 2, 2014. Retrieved April 30, 2014.
  7. ↑ "Williams, Wayne W." byu.edu. Retrieved November 19, 2014.
  8. ↑ "Our Campaigns - el Paso County - Commissioner - District 1 Race - Nov 07, 2006".
  9. ↑ "Our Campaigns - el Paso County, CO Clerk and Recorder Race - Nov 02, 2010".
  10. 1 2 "Wayne Williams appears to win Secretary of State race". denverpost.com. November 4, 2014. Retrieved November 19, 2014.
  11. ↑ Rittiman, Brandon (September 17, 2013). "Amid flood disaster, Scott Gessler announces bid for Colorado governor". 9News Colorado. Archived from the original on September 20, 2013. Retrieved September 19, 2013.
  12. ↑ "GOP sweeps statewide seats for second election in a row". coloradostatesman.com. Archived from the original on September 23, 2015. Retrieved November 19, 2014.
  13. ↑ LAKANA (December 20, 2016). "One Colorado elector fails to vote for Clinton, is replaced".
  14. ↑ Luning, Ernest. "Colorado Secretary of State Wayne Williams turns over state voter data to White House commission". Colorado Politics.
  15. ↑ Hawkins, Derek (May 10, 2018). "Analysis | The Cybersecurity 202: How Colorado became the safest state to cast a vote". Washington Post. ISSN 0190-8286. Retrieved May 10, 2018.
  16. ↑ Staff, Colorado Public Radio. "Secretary of State: Jena Griswold Defeats Wayne Williams". Colorado Public Radio.
  17. ↑ "Secretary of State Wayne Williams running for Colorado Springs City Council". The Gazette. Conrad Swanson. Retrieved January 6, 2019.
  18. ↑ conrad.swanson@gazette.com, CONRAD SWANSON. "New Colorado Springs City Councilman Wayne Williams sees no problem with wife on county board". Colorado Springs Gazette.
  19. ↑ Jent, Breeanna (January 28, 2023). "Likely front-runners emerge early in Colorado Springs mayoral race". The Gazette. Colorado Springs, Colorado. Retrieved February 9, 2023.
  20. ↑ Jent, Breeanna (April 5, 2023). "Colorado Springs city election: Mayor's race likely headed to a runoff between top 2 vote-getters". The Denver Gazette. Retrieved April 6, 2023.
  21. ↑ Colorado Springs City Elections (April 5, 2023). "April 4, 2023 General Municipal Election Results". City of Colorado Springs. Retrieved April 7, 2023.
  22. ↑ Fish, Sandra; Paul, Jesse (May 16, 2023). "Yemi Mobolade elected mayor of Colorado Springs — the first Black man elected to lead the city — in political upheaval". The Colorado Sun. Retrieved May 16, 2023.
  23. ↑ "May 16, 2023 Mayoral Run-Off Election Results". Colorado Springs City Clerk. May 16, 2023. Retrieved May 17, 2023.
  24. ↑ "April 4, 2023 General Municipal Election Results". Colorado Springs City Clerk. April 13, 2023. Retrieved April 18, 2023.
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