What many would call a “hometown” politician is looking to serve Union County once more as mayor.
Mike Williams, previous Union County Mayor and past Tennessee State Representative and Senator for 12 years, has decided to run for county office once more.
Williams, a Union County native, started out as a schoolteacher where he taught government. He would often welcome elected officials into his classroom to speak to the students on local government, but one thing he noticed was that they only ever came knocking every four years.
Instances like these made Williams think on how a politician should present themselves as well as how local government should be managed. After talking with a community member on these issues, someone once suggested that Williams, himself, run for office and do it differently.
Williams started out running for a state representative position. He lost his first election but learned many valuable lessons from that time in his life.
“You learn more from your failures than you do your success,” Williams stated. “If you win, you never look back on what you could have done differently.”
After this loss, Williams looked at his strengths and weaknesses in order to prepare for the next election and ended up coming out with a win.
After his work was finished in Nashville, he had thought it was the end of his road, but he was soon called to run for a local office.
Then and now, Williams strives to be a public servant to Union County and the numerous communities it holds. He feels as if he best serves the community through being in it and finding solutions and opportunities for the here and now.
Williams believes that every politician brings a different philosophy to the table, with his being that you must allow the market to dictate what you can and cannot do in the community.
Along with this, Williams stands strong in the belief that while many ideas are good opportunities, they may be better served and valued in the future.
Williams gave an example of this as he stated that, for the past five years Union County has grown tremendously, but a majority of that growth comes from retirees looking for a new place to call home in a good middle ground between the North and South.
With the tax structure of today, Williams believes that the county must be wise and careful with funds as the price of gas, building materials and other resources are high. He believes that local government should be run as if it were a household. If the household of many community members are cutting back on spending, should the county not do the same?
“If people are struggling at home, why make it harder for them,” Williams asked. “Government is intended to help people, not hurt them.”
Williams believes this is a cost-effective approach to county government in contrast to an ultra-conservative one.
Through his years in Nashville, he began to think five and ten years down the road. The question of do we need a certain entity in the community was a large question, but the bigger question was, do we need it now?
If elected, Williams hopes to bring the community numerous opportunities in a cost-effective way that allow them to be proud of their hometown.