Micheal R. Williams (born February 6, 1955, in

Knoxville, Tennessee Knoxville is a city in Knox County, Tennessee, United States, and its county seat. It is located on the Tennessee River and had a population of 190,740 at the 2020 United States census. It is the largest city in the East Tennessee Grand Division ...

) is a

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politician who formerly served in the

Tennessee State Senate The Tennessee Senate is the upper house of the U.S. state of Tennessee's state legislature, which is known formally as the Tennessee General Assembly. The Tennessee Senate has the power to pass resolutions concerning essentially any issue reg ...

and was elected county mayor of Union County in August 2010. A resident of Maynardville, in the Tennessee State Senate Williams represented the 4th district, which encompasses Claiborne,

Grainger Grainger may refer to: Places *Grainger, Alberta, a locality in Canada *Grainger County, Tennessee, a county located in Tennessee, United States *Grainger Falls, a waterfall in Chalky Inland, Fiordland, New Zealand *Grainger Stadium, a sports venu ...

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, Hawkins,

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, and Union counties. He attended

Lincoln Memorial University Lincoln Memorial University (LMU) is a private university in Harrogate, Tennessee and Knoxville, Tennessee. Its Harrogate main campus borders on Cumberland Gap National Historical Park. , it had 1,605 undergraduate and 4,200 graduate and profe ...

and obtained a

B.A. A Bachelor of Arts (abbreviated B.A., BA, A.B. or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is the holder of a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the liberal arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree ...

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and

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in 1985. He currently works in

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restoration. Williams was first elected to the 97th

General Assembly A general assembly or general meeting is a meeting of all the members of an organization or shareholders of a company. Specific examples of general assembly include: Churches * General Assembly (presbyterian church), the highest court of presby ...

as a member of the

Tennessee House of Representatives The Tennessee House of Representatives is the lower house of the Tennessee General Assembly, the state legislature of the U.S. state of Tennessee. Constitutional requirements According to the state constitution of 1870, this body is to consis ...

. He served as a

state senator A state senator is a member of a State legislature (United States), state's senate in the bicameral legislature of 49 U.S. states, or a member of the unicameral Nebraska Legislature. History There are typically fewer state senators than there ...

since being elected to the 100th General Assembly as a member of the Republican Party. Williams was Speaker pro Tempore of the Tennessee Senate during the 104th General Assembly (2005–2006). During the 100th General Assembly, he was the Senate Republican

Whip A whip is a blunt weapon or implement used in a striking motion to create sound or pain. Whips can be used for flagellation against humans or animals to exert control through pain compliance or fear of pain, or be used as an audible cue thro ...

, and he was the Senate Republican Assistant

floor leader A parliamentary leader is a political title or a descriptive term used in various countries to designate the person leading a parliamentary group or caucus in a legislative body, whether it be a national or sub-national legislature. They are thei ...

during the 101st General Assembly. He serves on the Senate

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, Ways, and Means Committee, the Senate

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, Labor, and

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Committee, and the Senate Rules Committee. On March 14, 2007, he announced that he was leaving the Senate Republican Caucus and becoming an

Independent Independent or Independents may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Artist groups * Independents (artist group), a group of modernist painters based in Pennsylvania, United States * Independentes (English: Independents), a Portuguese artist ...

. This left the Senate evenly divided, with 16 Democrats, 16 Republicans, and one Independent. In explaining his move, Williams said: "Some in the epublican/nowiki> party are leading us down a path of bitterness and divisiveness and, in doing so, they have left me. I have not left them." Senate leaders from both parties said Williams' move would make little difference because, as Senate Democratic Leader Jim Kyle stated, "Mike Williams has never been a guaranteed vote for anyone." Williams said he had not decided whether to seek re-election in 2008. The district he represents is generally regarded as strongly Republican, but Williams said he believes voters appreciate independence. "The largest voting bloc in the state of Tennessee is Independents," he said. "They're just not organized." In the 2007-2008 edition of the

Tennessee Blue Book The ''Tennessee Blue Book'' is an official government manual for the U.S. state of Tennessee, published by the Secretary of State of Tennessee. The ''Blue Book'' is typically published on a biennial basis. Its contents include details on the orga ...

, Williams listed his

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affiliation as "Independent

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Fan." In 2008 he ran for re-election to the State Senate as an independent candidate, narrowly losing to Church Hill attorney

Mike Faulk Michael Anthony Faulk (September 10, 1953 – November 11, 2014) was an American jurist and politician. Faulk was born in Kingsport, Tennessee. In November 2008, he was elected to the Tennessee State Senate, defeating incumbent Micheal R. Willia ...

, a Republican, by a vote of 29,417 to 29,171. Williams won election to the office of county mayor in Union County on August 5, 2010, receiving 52.2% of the vote and defeating incumbent Larry Lay.Tom Humphrey
Former State Sen. Mike Williams Elected Union County Mayor
, ''

Knoxville News Sentinel The ''Knoxville News Sentinel'', also known as ''Knox News'', is a daily newspaper in Knoxville, Tennessee, United States, owned by the Gannett Company. History The newspaper was formed in 1926 from the merger of two competing newspapers: '' ...

'' website, accessed August 7, 2010

References

External links

Micheal Williams' profile at the Tennessee General Assembly
{{DEFAULTSORT:Williams, Micheal R. Heads of county government in Tennessee Living people People from Maynardville, Tennessee Republican Party members of the Tennessee House of Representatives Republican Party Tennessee state senators 1955 births 21st-century members of the Tennessee General Assembly