Michael’s Biography
Michael Williams is a Commissioner on the Railroad Commission of Texas, which regulates the oil and gas industry. It is the state’s oldest regulatory agency. Elected statewide three times, he was elected to complete an unexpired term in November 2000. In November 2002 and 2008, they re-elected him to full six-year terms. He was initially appointed to the Commission by then-Governor George W. Bush in December 1998 to fill a vacant seat. Williams served as Chairman of the Commission from September 1999 to September 2003 and again from July 2007 to February 2009. He is the first African American in Texas history to hold an executive statewide elected post.
Williams serves as the Chairman of the Governor’s Competitiveness Council. He also chairs the Governor’s Clean Coal Technology Council, represents the Governor on the Southern States Energy Board and is a member of both the National Coal Council and the Interstate Compact Commission. Williams also serves as the Railroad Commission’s “point person” for the agency’s regulatory reform and technology modernization efforts.
The son of public school teachers who earned degrees in math and the husband of a mechanical engineer, Michael is the creator and co-sponsor of the “Winnovators,” a summer camp for 6th through 12th graders to inspire the next generation of scientists, technologists, engineers and mathematicians.
An advocate of alternative energy, Williams is championing the conversion of Texas public and private fleets, especially school buses, from diesel and gasoline to environmentally cleaner, cheaper and domestically produced natural gas and propane through his “Breathe Easy” initiative.
Michael is the immediate past Honorary State Chairman of Big Brothers Big Sisters of Texas. He initiated the Texas response against the tragedy in Darfur. Williams also narrates short stories for children of all ages, including the visually impaired and those with special needs.
Previously, Williams served as general counsel to a Texas high-tech corporation and “of Counsel” with the law firm of Haynes and Boone, L.L.P. He also has served in a volunteer capacity as the General Counsel of the Republican Party of Texas, the chairman of the Texas Juvenile Probation Commission, on the Board of Directors of the Arlington Chamber of Commerce, the Texas Public Policy Foundation and Our Mother of Mercy Catholic School.
A devout conservative, Michael helped get out the vote for Republicans as Chairman of Texas Victory 2004 and 2006, has served as Convention Chairman and Platform Committee Chairman at Republican Party of Texas’ State Conventions and was one of the original board members of the Texas Christian Coalition. He is also a life time member of the National Rifle Association.
He also had the pleasure to serve as an adjunct professor at Texas Southern University in the School of Public Affairs and Texas Wesleyan School of Law.
In 1990, President George H. W. Bush appointed Williams to be Assistant Secretary of Education for Civil Rights at the U.S. Department of Education, a position previously held by U.S. Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas.
Former President Bush previously appointed Williams as Deputy Assistant Secretary for Law Enforcement at the U.S. Department of the Treasury. He had policy oversight responsibility for the Federal Law Enforcement Training Center, the U.S. Secret Service, the U.S. Customs Service, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms and the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network. Williams also served in the Department of Justice as Special Assistant to Attorney General Richard Thornburgh.
Williams served as a prosecutor in the Department of Justice under President Ronald Reagan. In 1988, he was awarded the Attorney General’s “Special Achievement Award” for the conviction of six Ku Klux Klan members on stolen military weapons charges. Early in his career, he was an assistant district attorney in his hometown of Midland, Texas.
Williams is a proud alumnus of the University of Southern California where he holds a bachelor’s, a master’s and a law degree.
He is a member of Most Blessed Sacrament Catholic Church in Arlington, Texas. He and his best friend, Donna, celebrate 24 years of marriage.
Stay Connected: