Jason Williams (politician)

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Jason Williams
New Orleans City Council in session 23 August 2018 23 (cropped).jpg
Williams in 2018
District Attorney of New Orleans
Assumed office
January 11, 2021 (2021-January-11)
Preceded byLeon Cannizzaro
Member of the
New Orleans City Council
At-large – Division 2
In office
March 15, 2014 (2014-March-15) – January 11, 2021
Preceded byJackie Clarkson
Succeeded byDonna Glapion[a]
Personal details
Born
Jason Rogers Williams

(1972-11-02) November 2, 1972 (age 49)
New Orleans, Louisiana, U.S.
Political partyDemocratic
Spouse(s)Elizabeth Marcell Williams
Children3
ResidenceNew Orleans, Louisiana
EducationTulane University
Tulane Law School
ProfessionAttorney

Jason Rogers Williams (born November 2, 1972) is an American politician and attorney who is the Orleans Parish district attorney, he assumed office in 2021. From 2014 to 2021, Williams served as the Second Division Councilmember-at-large on the New Orleans City Council. He is a member of the Democratic Party, and was elected district attorney on a progressive platform.

Williams is facing federal charges of tax fraud and is pending trial.

Background[]

Williams was born and spent his adolescence in New Orleans.[1] He graduated from Woodward Academy, in College Park, Georgia, and attended Tulane University on a football scholarship, where he was elected class president 4 times. Additionally, he attended Tulane Law School, where he was elected class president 2 times. Shortly after graduating from Tulane Law School, Williams started his own law firm, Jason Rogers Williams & Associates, which he continues to manage. Williams has 3 children.[2]

Tax fraud charges[]

In June 2020, during his campaign for district attorney, Williams was charged with 11 counts of federal tax fraud.[3] Williams claims that he is innocent.[3] His trial was set by U.S. District Court Judge Martin Feldman for January 2022, [4] but it has been delayed due to an appeal made to the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit.[5]

Political career[]

In 2003 he was appointed Pro Tempore at Criminal District Court, by the Louisiana Supreme Court.

Williams (far right) during a New Orleans City Council meeting in August 2018.

He served as the At-large Division 2 member of the New Orleans City Council from his swearing in on March 15, 2014[6][7] till his resignation on January 11, 2021 to assume his position as district attorney. The seat would remain vacant until January 28, 2021 when Donna Glapion was chosen to fill his seat.[8][9]

In 2018, Williams announced he would be a candidate in the 2020 Orleans Parish district attorney election.[10] Williams campaigned on massive reforms to the district attorney's office, which has been plagued with allegations of prosecutorial overreach. His campaign has was characterized as progressive and part of a movement of progressive reforms in district attorney positions around the United States.[11] His policies are in stark contrast to those of his predecessor, Leon Cannizzaro, who held a more traditional "tough on crime" approach as district attorney. Williams would go on to defeat his opponent Keva Landrum on the December 5th election and assumed office January 11, 2021.[12][13][14]

Williams is a member of the Democratic Party.

Election history[]

Orleans Parish District Attorney, 2020
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Jason Williams 41,564 57.8
Democratic Keva Landrum 30,325 42.2
At-large Division 2 Election, 2017: New Orleans
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Jason Williams (Incumbent) 53,339 72.67
Republican David Baird 7,867 10.72
At-large Division 2 Election, 2014: New Orleans
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Jason Williams 41,143 67.86
Democratic Cynthia Hedge-Morrell 19,488 32.14

Notes[]

  1. ^ Following Williams resignation from the council, the seat remained vacant until Glapion filled the seat on January 28, 2021.

References[]

  1. ^ "Meet Jason Willilams". Jason Williams District Attorney 2020. Retrieved 17 October 2021.
  2. ^ "Jason Williams City Council At Large". Jason Williams City Council At Large.
  3. ^ a b JOHN SIMERMAN. "As Jason Williams' tax trial looms, specter of conviction hangs over Orleans Parish DA race". NOLA.com. Retrieved 10 December 2020.
  4. ^ John Simerman (July 21, 2021). "Tax fraud trial for New Orleans DA Jason Williams delayed until 2022". The Times-Picayune/The New Orleans Advocate. Retrieved 2021-10-05.
  5. ^ Team, WDSU Digital (21 January 2022). "Trial for Orleans Parish DA Jason Williams delayed". WDSU. Retrieved 25 January 2022.
  6. ^ "Bio". council.nola.gov.
  7. ^ "Jason Williams". Ballotpedia.
  8. ^ Stein, Michael Isaac (7 January 2021). "What's next for DA-elect Williams' City Council seat?". The Lens. Retrieved 15 February 2021.
  9. ^ "MEET THE COUNCIL | AT-LARGE | DONNA GLAPION". council.nola.gov. Retrieved 15 February 2021.
  10. ^ jsimerman@theadvocate.com, JOHN SIMERMAN. "New Orleans council president Jason Williams 'absolutely' running for DA in 2020, he says". NOLA.com. Retrieved 26 November 2019.
  11. ^ Katie Jane Fernelius (April 21, 2021). "In Nation's Incarceration Capital, A New DA Is Freeing People From Prison". The Appeal. Retrieved 2021-10-15.
  12. ^ "Jason Williams wins New Orleans DA race, promising new era in prosecutor's office". Retrieved 10 December 2020.
  13. ^ Vidal, Olivia. "District Attorney-elect Jason Williams speaks after winning election". www.fox8live.com. Retrieved 10 December 2020.
  14. ^ "Jason Williams (Louisiana)". Ballotpedia. Retrieved 10 December 2020.
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