Born in 1949, Williams grew up in Berlin, Maryland, and worked at his father’s tavern as a cook and server. He graduated from Stephen Decatur High School in 1966 and served in the United States Army Reserves (Davis, 2015).
For thirty years, Williams was a local journalist and then became the community relations director for nine Eastern Shore counties for the Maryland State Highway Administration. Later, he served as the director of marketing and development with the Community Foundation of the Eastern Shore. Williams was elected to the Berlin Town Council in 2003 (Lanasa, 2020).
During his terms, Williams encouraged racial progress, supported the Worcester County Developmental Center (Davis, 2015), was the Mayor when Budget Travel Magazine named Berlin the “Coolest Small Town” in America in 2014, and Best Choice Reviews named the town the 17th Best Small-Town Downtown in America. He led strategic planning meetings, hosted Maryland State Representative Chris Van Hollen in 2016 and Governor Larry Hogan (Raymond & Fanelli, 2016), advocated for a Worcester County EMS task force with other Worcester County mayors (Harley, 2020), developed the Berlin Ambassadors Program (DispatchAdmin, 2012), oversaw Berlin becoming the first Sustainable Maryland Community in 2012 and re-designated in 2015, reorganized town staff and created the Department of Economic and Community Development, passed policy with the town council that required future mayors and councils to review the town’s financial standing ahead of any budget planning process (Prensky, 2019). His wife is Betsy.
Davis, J. (2015, February 12). Examining racial progress in Berlin. Bayside Gazette. https://baysideoc.com/app/files/issues_file/02.12.15_Bayside_Gazette_Issue.pdf.
DispatchAdmin. (2012, June 14). 06/14/2012: Berlin starts ambassador program: News ocean city MD. News Ocean City Maryland Coast Dispatch Newspaper. https://mdcoastdispatch.com/2012/06/14/berlin-starts-ambassador-program/.
Harley, Deana (2020, March 6). Worcester County mayors ask for EMS Task Force. 47abc. https://www.wmdt.com/2020/03/worcester-county-mayors-ask-for-ems-task-force/.
Lanasa, A. (2020, July 9). Williams seeking to retain position as Berlin mayor. The Bayside Gazette. https://baysideoc.com/williams-seeking-to-retain-position-as-berlin-mayor/.
Prensky, M. (2019, June 26). Berlin passes new tax policy to help avoid future tax controversies. The Daily Times. https://www.delmarvanow.com/story/news/local/maryland/2019/06/26/berlin-passes-new-tax-policy-help-avoid-future-tax-controversies/1548480001/.
Raymond, Megan, & Fanelli, Gino. (2016, August 19). Photo: Rep. Chris Van Hollen visits Berlin. DelmarvaNow.com – Home. https://www.delmarvanow.com/picture-gallery/news/2016/08/19/photo-rep-chris-van-hollen-visits-berlin/89011990/.
