Anthony Williams: The Mayor

Anthony Williams’s path to becoming the fifth mayor of Washington, D.C. was circuitous. During the Vietnam years, Williams left college to join the Air Force, ultimately leaving the service as a conscientious objector. He was given an honorable discharge in 1974 and went on to graduate magna cum laude with a BA in Political Science from Yale College. Williams then earned a J.D. from Harvard Law School and a Master’s in Public Policy from the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University. Anthony served in local and state governments in Boston, St. Louis, and Connecticut, before President Clinton appointed him as the first Chief Financial Officer (CFO) for the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Anthony became the CFO for the District of Columbia, before becoming mayor of the District and rescuing the city from the brink of financial ruin.