Dohassen Gault-Williams (born June 29, 1974), better known as Das Williams, is an American

politician A politician is a person who participates in Public policy, policy-making processes, usually holding an elective position in government. Politicians represent the people, make decisions, and influence the formulation of public policy. The roles ...

who previously served as County Supervisor on the

Santa Barbara County Board of Supervisors Santa Barbara County, officially the County of Santa Barbara (), is a County (United States), county located in Southern California. As of the 2020 United States census, the population was 448,229. The county seat is Santa Barbara, California ...

. He represented the First District, which encompasses

Carpinteria Carpinteria (; , meaning "Carpentry") is a small seaside city in southeastern Santa Barbara County, California. Located on the Central Coast of California, it had a population of 13,264 at the 2020 census. Carpinteria is a popular surf destin ...

, most of Santa Barbara, and parts of the

Los Padres National Forest Los Padres National Forest is a United States national forest in Southern California, southern and central California. Administered by the United States Forest Service, Los Padres includes most of the mountainous land along the California coast ...

. In 2024, Williams was defeated for re-election in a bid for his second term by

City Councilman Roy Lee by a 49%-51% margin. He formerly served in the

California State Assembly The California State Assembly is the lower house of the California State Legislature (the upper house being the California State Senate). The Assembly convenes, along with the State Senate, at the California State Capitol in Sacramento, Califor ...

, representing the 37th district, encompassing parts of Santa Barbara and Ventura counties. Before being elected to the state assembly, he was a member of the Santa Barbara City Council. He is a

Democrat Democrat, Democrats, or Democratic may refer to: Politics *A proponent of democracy, or democratic government; a form of government involving rule by the people. *A member of a Democratic Party: **Democratic Party (Cyprus) (DCY) **Democratic Part ...

Background

Das led the effort to pass a new gun control measure after the 2014 Isla Vista shootings, similar policies have since been adopted nationwide. After the Thomas Fire and Montecito Debris flow Das was instrumental in passing ordinances that allowed homeowners to rebuild their lost property quickly. Before embarking in politics, Williams worked as a junior high school teacher and a legislative aide to then-assemblymember

Hannah-Beth Jackson Hannah-Beth Jackson (born May 19, 1950) is an American politician who served in the California State Senate from 2012 to 2020. A Democratic Party (United States), Democrat, she represented the California's 19th State Senate district, 19th Senate D ...

. Williams holds a master's degree in Environmental Science & Management, with a focus on water pollution, planning processes, and land-use law from the

University of California, Santa Barbara The University of California, Santa Barbara (UC Santa Barbara or UCSB) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Santa Barbara County, California, United States. Tracing its roots back to 1891 as an ...

's Bren School of Environmental Science & Management in 2005. As a UC grad, Williams has opposed fee increases for the UC system.

2014 California State Assembly

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Williams, Das 1974 births California city council members American community activists Living people Democratic Party members of the California State Assembly People from Alaska Politicians from Santa Barbara, California University of California, Santa Barbara alumni People from Carpinteria, California 21st-century members of the California State Legislature