Dem Primary: Rebecca Williams brings community involvement to the table

Rebecca Williams (center), honoring a group of Plainfield mothers
for a recent Mothers Day.

Primary Election day is next Tuesday, June 7. While Plainfield Republicans will be voting for their city committee representatives (and pondering Donald Trump), the only candidates for two open City Counil seats are Democrats.

After years of simply having candidates thrust upon the voters willy-nilly, it is refreshing to have Democratic candidates who actually bring community involvement to the table.

And that we have in Rebecca Williams, who is the official candidate for the citywide at-large seat, and Charles McRae, the official candidate for the Ward 3 seat. (I will profile Charles tomorrow.)

Rebecca, as all who know her will attest, is a force of nature. When she picks up on an issue, you know that she has your back.

Now in her second term as at-large councilor representing Wards 2 and 3, she earned the official line after a rigorous screening of multiple candidates by a citywide screening committee.

Rebecca cut her teeth in Plainfield politics by serving as now Freeholder Linda Carter's campaign manager in Linda's first run for City Council in 2003.

Active in a number of community organizations, including the Friends of the Plainfield Public Library and the League of Women Voters (where she keeps up their website), Rebecca also volunteers at the Second Street Youth Center, where she brings her teaching skills to bear.

A professor at Essex County College, she previously was the outreach coordinator for the Drake House and helped make the city's house museum an exciting place for youngsters in its West End neighborhood.

On the City Council, she has served as liaison for Recreation and Public Safety. This year, she serves as chair of the Finance Committee and led the Council to the earliest adoption of a budget in recent memory. Alone among her Council colleagues, Rebecca regularly updates the Council and the public on recreation and public safety news.

A couple of years ago, when a failure of Council leadership nearly led to Liberty Village residents being forced out of their homes, Rebecca stepped into the breach and single-handedly mobilized them to put pressure on the Council to rescue them from their dire situation.

Always looking out for the whole community, Rebecca will be an excellent, fully engaged and responsible Citywide At-Large representative on the Council.

Polls are open on Tuesday, June 7, from 6:00 AM to 8:00 PM. Unaffiliated voters may declare  a party registration at the table to vote in the party primaries.

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  -- Dan Damon [follow]

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