Pat Williams (Montana politician)

John Patrick Williams (born October 30, 1937) is an American Democratic legislator who represented Montana in the United States House of Representatives from 1979 to 1997.

Pat Williams
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives
from Montana's At-large district
In office
January 3, 1993  January 3, 1997
Preceded byConstituency established
Succeeded byRick Hill
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives
from Montana's 1st district
In office
January 3, 1979  January 3, 1993
Preceded byMax Baucus
Succeeded byConstituency abolished
Member of the Montana House of Representatives
In office
1967-1969
Personal details
Born
John Patrick Williams

(1937-10-30) October 30, 1937
Helena, Montana, U.S.
Political partyDemocratic
Spouse(s)Carol Williams
ChildrenGriff Williams
Whitney Williams
Alma materUniversity of Montana, Missoula
William Jewell College
University of Denver

Williams attended the University of Montana in Missoula, William Jewell College and the University of Denver, Colorado, earning a B.A. In 1961–1969 he was a member of the National Guard in Colorado and Montana and was a teacher in Butte, Montana. His cousin was Robert "Evel" Knievel, a legendary American daredevil and showman.

Political career

In 1966 Williams was elected to the Montana House of Representatives in District 23 of Silver Bow County, winning reelection in 1968. During the years 1969–1971 he served as the executive assistant to Montana Representative John Melcher. Williams was a member of the Governor's Employment and Training Council from 1972 to 1978 and served on the Montana Reapportionment Commission from 1972 to 1973.

In 1974 Williams ran an unsuccessful primary election campaign against future Senator Max Baucus for the Democratic Party nomination for Montana's U.S. House 1st District Representative. Baucus would win the November elections defeating Republican Dick Shoup. In 1978 Williams ran a successful primary campaign against Dorothy Bradley to win the Democratic nomination for the 1st District of Montana. In November Williams defeated Republican Jim Waltermire in one of Montana's largest door-to-door campaigns, and winning 57% percent of the vote, getting elected to the 96th U.S. Congress.

Re-elections

In 1980 Williams won reelection against Jack McDonald with 61% of the vote; in 1982 against Bob Davies with 60%; in 1984 against Gary Carlson with 67%; in 1986 against Don Allen with 62%, 1988 against Jim Fenlason with 61%; in 1990 against Brad Johnson. In 1992 Montana lost its second seat in the U.S. House of Representatives, leaving Williams to campaign against fellow incumbent Ron Marlenee.

Williams narrowly won with 50% of the vote. In 1994 he was elected to his ninth and final term, defeating Cy Jamison with 49% of the votes. He chose not to run for reelection in 1996, and Republican Rick Hill defeated Bill Yellowtail to become Montana's new U.S. Representative that year. As of 2020, Williams is the last Democrat to represent Montana in the U.S. House.

Recent history

Williams is Senior Fellow and Regional Policy associate at the Center for the Rocky Mountain West and he serves on the Boards of Directors for the National Association of Governing Boards of Universities and Colleges,[1] the National Association of Job Corps, and The President's Advisory Commission for Tribal Colleges.

Williams was on the board of directors of the Student Loan Marketing Association, the now disbanded GSE subsidiary of U.S.A. Education (Sallie Mae). Williams also writes newspaper columns on occasion.[2]

Nominated for a seat on the Montana Board of Regents of Higher Education in 2012 by then-governor Brian Schweitzer, Williams endured opposition to his pending confirmation. It arose due to publication of an out-of-context statement made to a New York Times reporter regarding a half dozen players on the University of Montana football team who recently ran afoul of the law. He referred just to those six as "thugs," but his statement was taken as referring to the entire team and program.[3] The cause for confusion was due to Williams' continued attempts to clarify his statements. He was first quoted by ESPN saying, "Montana recruits thugs". His clarification to a half dozen players did not come until his confirmation hearing. By that point the damage had been done. His confirmation to the Board of Regents was blasted to the Senate floor and the Republican-majority Senate rejected his appointment.

Williams is a member of the ReFormers Caucus of Issue One.[4]

References

  1. "AGB". Agb.org. Retrieved 2017-05-17.
  2. "Montana's not so 'red' after all". Agb.org. Retrieved 2017-05-17.
  3. Johnson, Charles. Brouhaha over regent's confirmation hits Senate, Billings Gazette; accessed March 21, 2013.
  4. "Rep. Pat Williams joins the ReFormers Caucus". Issue One. Retrieved 2017-06-02.
U.S. House of Representatives
Preceded by
Max Baucus
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives
from Montana's 1st congressional district

1979–1993
Constituency abolished
New constituency Member of the U.S. House of Representatives
from Montana's At-large congressional district

1993–1997
Succeeded by
Rick Hill
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