Despite lengthy campaigning that included “several thousand” door-to-door visits in Howard County this year, the youngest candidate for this state’s General Assembly, who is also a student at this university, was not elected in yesterday’s midterms.
Republican Jimmy Williams, a 21-year-old senior finance and journalism major at this university, failed to get the nod from voters to represent District 13 in the state’s House of Delegates. Instead, Democratic incumbents Shane Pendergrass and Frank Turner, as well as Democrat Vanessa Atterbeary, emerged as victors.
“We definitely stuck to a positive, issue-based campaign, and unfortunately the numbers just weren’t there for us,” Williams said. “I do intend to run again in four years.”
Williams received 13,612 votes, or 12.7 percent of the county’s total, compared with Pendergrass, Turner and Atterbeary, who each accrued about 20 percent, as of 12:53 a.m. He finished last out of the six candidates in total number of votes.
The results came at the end of a candidacy Williams announced in January. Throughout it, he argued for the benefits of having a new voice in the General Assembly and clung to the line, “I do not answer to the leadership in Annapolis; I answer to you.”
And for the most part, Williams said, that message has resonated with county voters he spoke with during the campaign.
Some, however, have questioned his life experience. Williams said he has found himself at the receiving end of jabs from other candidates claiming that elected officials need to know what it’s like to ride the Metro or find a preschool for their children.
“My opponents were playing petty politics, instead of focusing on the issues,” Williams said, adding that his campaign did not respond publicly to that type of criticism.
Williams’ platform zeroed in on what he considers to be financial complacency on the part of the state. In a video posted on YouTube in July, he said that, if elected, he would push the state “to address the hundreds of millions of dollars of audit recommendations that are just sitting on the governor’s desk.”
Jody Venkatesan, the District 13 Republican candidate for state senator, worked closely with Williams during the campaign and praised his intellect and intentions. Venkatesan lost in a landslide race to Democratic candidate Guy Guzzone, who previously served in the House of Delegates.
“Jimmy’s a future leader; he’s a rising star, as far as I’m concerned: somebody of his age and intellect doing what he’s done to stand tall,” said Venkatesan, 44. “He’s got a lot to give.”
During his campaigning, Williams said he and his mother walked “a hundred miles or more, easily,” through the neighborhoods of District 13, and came across only a handful of people who refused to talk to them. His campaign lacked the funds necessary for television and newspaper ads, so he created a website and promoted himself via Facebook and Twitter.
“He’s very well-spoken; he knows his stuff,” said Phyllis Williams, his mother. “And to hear other people say that makes me feel good as a parent.”
Williams said he plans to find a job as a legislative aide or on a committee in Annapolis for the upcoming session.
