Candidate for
Governor; State of Pennsylvania; Democratic Party

Anthony Hardy Williams never dreamed he'd hold elective office growing up. He planned to take over the business world, first by honing his skills at a Fortune 500 company and then, striking out on his own. He did both, working as an executive for PepsiCo, then launching his own vending company.

Then his world exploded -- literally. That's when he watched part of the neighborhood he grew up in engulfed in flames during the 1985 MOVE standoff in Philadelphia. He saw hopelessness creeping into formerly vibrant communities. He watched companies closing and jobs leaving, not just in his corner of the world, but all across Pennsylvania. Fear rose. Opportunities waned. Something needed to be done.

He realized that someone had to advocate for his neighbors. Someone had to address the issues they faced around the kitchen table and the boardroom table. Someone had to have better ideas. So he stepped up.

The spirit that drove him to enter politics then, at age 31, continues today.

As governor, he would put his economics degree from Franklin & Marshall College to work to deliver what families across the Commonwealth want and need: great schools for their children and secure jobs in clean, thriving communities with lower taxes that allow both businesses and neighborhoods to flourish.

That means expanding educational options so targeted public dollars go to schools that offer results -- be it a neighborhood, charter or private school. It means ensuring that lessons learned equal skills that can transfer to a job or a degree program. That requires supporting programs that work, not forcing higher taxes on homeowners and businesses to make up for waste and shortfalls. It'll result in putting more people to work, instead of letting another generation languish and leaving yet another to pick up the tab.

He follows a simple dictate: use the best ideas -- regardless if they originate with a fellow Democrat, a Republican or an Independent. It's a people-centered approach to leadership.

That's how he operates in the Pennsylvania State Senate, where he serves as Democratic chairman of the State Government Committee and is a member of the Education, Banking and Insurance, Finance, Environmental Resources and Energy committees, and the Life Sciences Caucus. He is also a member of the Pennsylvania Council on the Arts and sits on a number of community boards.

As senator for the 8th District, he connects with and offers solutions for citizens in small towns, suburban enclaves and urban centers, serving people of all economic, ethnic, religious, and cultural backgrounds.

He has tackled issues that impact real people and their day-to-day lives, be that ending unfair credit scoring practices, curbing energy rate hikes or improving public schools. He is fearless in his approach when it concerns improving the lives of his constituents + even if it means standing up to his party or its patrons.

It comes from the moral courage his father, the late Hardy Williams, and his mother, Carole Williams-Green, instilled in him. It's drawn from the inspiration he finds in his wife of 15 years, Shari.

Like you, he wants to leave a better world, not just for their two daughters, Asia and Autumn, but for all of Pennsylvania's children.