BRENDA WILLIAMS
Age: 57
Residency: Middletown
Education: Earned associate's degree from University of Cincinnati; bachelor's degree in global management and communications from Wilberforce University
Current employment: Client service specialist at Luxottica Retail
Family: Two adult sons, one granddaughter
Top issues: Being a voice for taxpayers, resolving infrastructure issues
Political experience: None in running for public office, but political involvement began in early 1980s through membership in Middletown Jaycees
Political party: Democratic
Democratic candidate Brenda Williams is looking to replace Republican incumbent Cindy Carpenter as a Butler County commissioner this fall in hopes of changing the political structure of Butler County.
“I am the voice for the people. I’m an ordinary citizen. I’m not using politics as a way to fund my lifestyle,” Williams said. “I’m an average, ordinary person who has gone through the system, who has used a lot of the services of the county, and not just looking down upon people, but I’m a person who has been on the floor with the people.”
Williams, 57, said she lost her settlements administrator job at Duke Energy in 2004, after 15 years with the company, due to corporate restructuring.
“I was out of work for three years during the recession, having lost my job, and was trying to find ways of reinventing myself,” the Middletown resident said. “I went to Job and Family Services to find funding to go back to school.”
Through this process, Williams faced multiple moments of miscommunication between government offices regarding the requirements to receive school funding.
She said she eventually met with the director of Job and Family Services to detail the problems she had encountered while trying to get help.
“As a result, I was able to receive the funding which financed me going back to school and obtaining a second degree,” Williams said. “And, as a result of that, I was able to go back into the workforce and have been gainfully employed for the past seven years.”
Williams now works as a client service specialist for Luxottica Retail. She earned a bachelor’s degree from Wilberforce University in global management and communication.
“There are a lot of people who are not willing, or do not know how, to take that next step further and … obtain the services that the county is offering,” Williams said. “That’s why I feel that I would be a good voice (as a commissioner). I have a pretty much better assessment of knowing how those agencies work and how they don’t work.”
Williams joined the county commissioner ballot July 31 after Randy McDonald withdrew from the race.
The Butler County Democratic Party supports Williams’ candidacy. Spokesman Dave Spurrier said they are proud to have her on the ballot.
“Too many Butler County residents are not represented in county government, which for too long has served the interests of the wealthy few at the expense of too many who have fallen behind in these difficult economic times,” Spurrier said.
If elected, Williams said she plans to address accountability and transparency in the political system, and the maintenance and improvement of county infrastructure. And, she’ll look at “why there is so much of our state funding taken back by the state that is depleting our communities of our services, and the service workers.”
Williams said the longtime Republican dominance in Butler County raises questions about balance.
“I think it’s necessary to keep a watchful eye on county spending so that the interests of the taxpayers are not held in self-deserving politicians who have special interests,” Williams said.
Butler County Democratic Party volunteer coordinator Paul Gomia echoes Williams.
“I think so often we have county commissioners and city council members that come from a section of the community that have a lot of business exposure but not a lot of people exposure,” Gomia said. “I think for her (Williams), I see people exposure and a real caring attitude. She’s very insistent.”
“She stands for what she believes and she’s pretty assertive about making what she believes known,” Gomia said.
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