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Mary Frances Williams

From Ballotpedia
Mary Frances Williams
Georgia House of Representatives District 37
Tenure
2019 - Present
Term ends
2027
Years in position
7
Compensation
Base salary
$25,315.32/year
Per diem
$247/day
Elections and appointments
Last election
November 5, 2024
Education
High school
Marietta High School
Bachelor's
Earlham College, 1976
Graduate
The University of Georgia, 1981
Personal
Birthplace
Atlanta, GA
Religion
Christian: Methodist
Profession
Advocacy
Contact

Mary Frances Williams (Democratic Party) is a member of theGeorgia House of Representatives, representingDistrict 37. She assumed office on January 14, 2019. Her current term ends on January 11, 2027.

Williams (Democratic Party) ran for re-election to theGeorgia House of Representatives to representDistrict 37. She won in the general election onNovember 5, 2024.

Williams completed Ballotpedia'sCandidate Connection survey in 2024.Click here to read the survey answers.

Biography

Mary Frances Williams was born inAtlanta, Georgia. She earned a bachelor's degree from Earlham College in 1976 and a master's degree from the University of Georgia in 1981. Her career experience includes working as a public policy consultant and a director of advocacy. She has served as a board member of Women's Policy Group. As of 2024, Williams was affiliated with Leadership Cobb and Leadership Georgia.[1][2]

Committee assignments

2025-2026

Williams was assigned to the following committees:

2023-2024

Williams was assigned to the following committees:

2021-2022

Williams was assigned to the following committees:

2019-2020

Williams was assigned to the following committees:


Sponsored legislation

The following table lists bills this person sponsored as a legislator, according toBillTrack50 and sorted by action history. Bills are sorted by the date of their last action. The following list may not be comprehensive. To see all bills this legislator sponsored, click on the legislator's name in the title of the table.


Elections

2024

See also: Georgia House of Representatives elections, 2024

General election

General election for Georgia House of Representatives District 37

IncumbentMary Frances Williams defeatedShea Taylor in the general election for Georgia House of Representatives District 37 on November 5, 2024.

Candidate
%
Votes
✔
Image of Mary Frances Williams
Mary Frances Williams (D) Candidate Connection
 
55.7
 
14,748
Image of Shea Taylor
Shea Taylor (R) Candidate Connection
 
44.3
 
11,725

Ballotpedia Logo

Incumbents arebolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source

Total votes: 26,473
Candidate Connection = candidate completed theBallotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you,complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.

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Democratic primary election

Democratic primary for Georgia House of Representatives District 37

IncumbentMary Frances Williams advanced from the Democratic primary for Georgia House of Representatives District 37 on May 21, 2024.

Candidate
%
Votes
✔
Image of Mary Frances Williams
Mary Frances Williams Candidate Connection
 
100.0
 
2,794

Ballotpedia Logo

Incumbents arebolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source

Total votes: 2,794
Candidate Connection = candidate completed theBallotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you,complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.

Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data?Contact our sales team.

Republican primary election

Republican primary for Georgia House of Representatives District 37

Shea Taylor advanced from the Republican primary for Georgia House of Representatives District 37 on May 21, 2024.

Candidate
%
Votes
✔
Image of Shea Taylor
Shea Taylor Candidate Connection
 
100.0
 
2,141

Ballotpedia Logo

There were noincumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source

Total votes: 2,141
Candidate Connection = candidate completed theBallotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you,complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.

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Endorsements

Ballotpedia did not identify endorsements for Williams in this election.

2022

See also: Georgia House of Representatives elections, 2022

General election

General election for Georgia House of Representatives District 37

IncumbentMary Frances Williams defeatedMarites Redding in the general election for Georgia House of Representatives District 37 on November 8, 2022.

Candidate
%
Votes
✔
Image of Mary Frances Williams
Mary Frances Williams (D)
 
57.4
 
11,825
Image of Marites Redding
Marites Redding (R) Candidate Connection
 
42.6
 
8,774

Ballotpedia Logo

Incumbents arebolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source

Total votes: 20,599
Candidate Connection = candidate completed theBallotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you,complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.

Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data?Contact our sales team.

Democratic primary election

Democratic primary for Georgia House of Representatives District 37

IncumbentMary Frances Williams advanced from the Democratic primary for Georgia House of Representatives District 37 on May 24, 2022.

Candidate
%
Votes
✔
Image of Mary Frances Williams
Mary Frances Williams
 
100.0
 
3,538

Ballotpedia Logo

Incumbents arebolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source

Total votes: 3,538
Candidate Connection = candidate completed theBallotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you,complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.

Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data?Contact our sales team.

Republican primary election

Republican primary for Georgia House of Representatives District 37

Marites Redding advanced from the Republican primary for Georgia House of Representatives District 37 on May 24, 2022.

Candidate
%
Votes
✔
Image of Marites Redding
Marites Redding Candidate Connection
 
100.0
 
4,522

Ballotpedia Logo

There were noincumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source

Total votes: 4,522
Candidate Connection = candidate completed theBallotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you,complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.

Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data?Contact our sales team.

2020

See also: Georgia House of Representatives elections, 2020

General election

General election for Georgia House of Representatives District 37

IncumbentMary Frances Williams defeatedRose Wing in the general election for Georgia House of Representatives District 37 on November 3, 2020.

Candidate
%
Votes
✔
Image of Mary Frances Williams
Mary Frances Williams (D)
 
54.0
 
15,946
Rose Wing (R)
 
46.0
 
13,603

Ballotpedia Logo

Incumbents arebolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source

Total votes: 29,549
Candidate Connection = candidate completed theBallotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you,complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.

Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data?Contact our sales team.

Democratic primary election

Democratic primary for Georgia House of Representatives District 37

IncumbentMary Frances Williams advanced from the Democratic primary for Georgia House of Representatives District 37 on June 9, 2020.

Candidate
%
Votes
✔
Image of Mary Frances Williams
Mary Frances Williams
 
100.0
 
6,738

Ballotpedia Logo

Incumbents arebolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source

Total votes: 6,738
Candidate Connection = candidate completed theBallotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you,complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.

Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data?Contact our sales team.

Republican primary election

Republican primary for Georgia House of Representatives District 37

Rose Wing advanced from the Republican primary for Georgia House of Representatives District 37 on June 9, 2020.

Candidate
%
Votes
✔Rose Wing
 
100.0
 
5,176

Ballotpedia Logo

There were noincumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source

Total votes: 5,176
Candidate Connection = candidate completed theBallotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you,complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.

Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data?Contact our sales team.

2018

See also:Georgia House of Representatives elections, 2018

General election

General election for Georgia House of Representatives District 37

Mary Frances Williams defeated incumbentSam Teasley in the general election for Georgia House of Representatives District 37 on November 6, 2018.

Candidate
%
Votes
✔
Image of Mary Frances Williams
Mary Frances Williams (D)
 
50.4
 
11,928
Image of Sam Teasley
Sam Teasley (R)
 
49.6
 
11,755

Ballotpedia Logo

Incumbents arebolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source

Total votes: 23,683
Candidate Connection = candidate completed theBallotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you,complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.

Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data?Contact our sales team.

Democratic primary election

Democratic primary for Georgia House of Representatives District 37

Mary Frances Williams defeatedRagin Edwards andBill Bolton in the Democratic primary for Georgia House of Representatives District 37 on May 22, 2018.

Candidate
%
Votes
✔
Image of Mary Frances Williams
Mary Frances Williams
 
70.0
 
1,964
Image of Ragin Edwards
Ragin Edwards
 
18.3
 
514
Image of Bill Bolton
Bill Bolton
 
11.7
 
327

Ballotpedia Logo

There were noincumbents in this race. The results have been certified.

Total votes: 2,805
Candidate Connection = candidate completed theBallotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you,complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.

Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data?Contact our sales team.

Republican primary election

Republican primary for Georgia House of Representatives District 37

IncumbentSam Teasley advanced from the Republican primary for Georgia House of Representatives District 37 on May 22, 2018.

Candidate
%
Votes
✔
Image of Sam Teasley
Sam Teasley
 
100.0
 
3,012

Ballotpedia Logo

Incumbents arebolded and underlined. The results have been certified.

Total votes: 3,012
Candidate Connection = candidate completed theBallotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you,complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.

Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data?Contact our sales team.

Campaign themes

2024

Ballotpedia survey responses

See also:Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection

Candidate Connection

Mary Frances Williams completedBallotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2024. The survey questions appear in bold and are followed by Williams' responses.

Expand all |Collapse all

I am a lifelong resident of Marietta, attended Marietta City Schools and graduated from Marietta High School. I am running for re-election to my 4th term as Representative for House District 37. Prior to my election in 2018, I spent 34 years as a public policy advocate for nonprofits serving women, children and families. As an advocate, I helped restore millions of dollars to state school nutrition programs and successfully fought for passage of the Family Care Act, which allows Georgians to use sick leave to care for ailing family members. I ran for office because I learned first hand from my work that there are many Georgians who have no voice at our state Capitol, even though the decisions made by members of the Georgia State Legislature affect and impact almost every part of our daily lives. I wanted to help give a voice to those people.
  • Georgia thrives when we create opportunities for all to succeed. Small businesses and working families are the backbone of our economy. I support a living wage, equal pay for women and fostering a climate the creates job opportunities for all residents. Many Georgians are struggling with the exorbitant cost of child care, and the rising cost of groceries and utilities. We can do more to support families and seniors, such as increasing funding for childcare programs for working parents, exploring tax credits that benefit middle income families, and creating a consumer utility council that will represent the rights and interests of consumers when utility rate increases are being considered by the Georgia Public Service Commission.
  • Our public schools are fundamentally connected to opportunities for our young people and to creating a well-trained workforce for businesses. While Cobb County and Marietta schools are among the state's best, they are still asked to do more with less. While it is technically correct that Georgia has fully funded the QBE (Quality Basic Education) formula, there are many components of public education funding that are not included in the QBE formula. Just a few of those are School Nutrition, Transportation and School Nurses. I support increased school funding, better teacher pay and flexibility in testing.
  • The right to vote is a fundamental pillar in the formation of our government. Protecting the integrity of the entire electoral process, including safe and fair voting access without suppression, competent election management and the integrity of voting results will restore our faith in government and give all Georgians a voice in their own governance. As a member of the Government Affairs Committee, I fought against legislation that made absentee ballot voting more difficult and the restricted the number and availability of ballot boxes. Recent actions by the State Elections Board threaten the autonomy of county election boards and the integrity of the process of certifying election results. I oppose and am helping fight these actions.
Public education, Environmental Issues, Reproductive freedom for women, and Gun Safety.
Integrity

Honesty

A Commitment to serving the people rather than special interests

Willingness to reach out to and listen to constituents
Responsiveness to requests for assistance from constituents

Humility.
Educating oneself about the issues and legislation under consideration by committees that have been assigned and how it might affect constituents.

Being responsive to constituents.
Learning about and understanding the needs of the local community.
Being willing to speak up for the people of your district, even when facing powerful special interests or partisan politics.
Understanding the state budget process.
Fighting for the state resources needed within your community.

Being willing to reach across political party lines to build consensus and solve problems.
My first job was at 14, wrapping Christmas presents in the family-owned drugstore, Atherton's.
I'm not sure there is an ideal relationship because there are often competing interests between the Governor and the State Legislature. I do feel that the leadership of the House and Senate should act independently from the Office of the Governor as the Legislature and the Governor are different and separate branches of government. Strong leadership is needed for each branch.
Funding for health care, protection of the environment, building a strong workforce.
I think it can be beneficial but is not necessary. Fresh perspectives and special expertise can be very helpful when dealing with difficult issues.
It is not only beneficial but necessary to build relationships with other legislators. Relationships can build trust, which is a necessary component when working on difficult issues. I was lucky to have strong relationships in place with legislators from both parties due to my 34 years as a nonprofit advocate and lobbyist when I when I first was elected in 2018.
My father, Howard Atherton, who served as a State Representative from 1968-1974.
I hear many such stories. Lately I hear from many young parents that are struggling to pay for childcare, saying that it costs almost as much as their mortgage.
The story that has most stuck with me, though, is that of a parent of a then four-year-old in preschool. The child came home that day and told her mother that they had practiced how to be quiet if someone came into their school and they were hiding (training for active shooter incidents). They all huddled in a closet and struggled to be quiet and not cry. To keep very young children quiet, the mother learned, the teachers had suckers to give them. Something about those four year olds hiding in a closet trying to learn to be quiet, and the need to keep them quiet in a life-threatening situation, brought me to tears. It still does today.
I'm not sure. Emergency powers, as we have learned from recent weather catastrophes, need to be used quickly. I do think in some hands, however,
emergency powers could be used in the wrong way. Some oversight by the legislature is probably a good idea.
I would love to help work for passage of a bill creating a consumer utility council. It is my understanding that Georgia is one of only three states without one.
Georgia Conservation Voters, Everytown for Gun Safety, Georgia WIN List, Red Clay Democrats, Georgia Association of Educators, AFL-CIO.
I currently serve on Governmental Affairs, Natural Resources and the Environment, Retirement and State Properties.
I am interested in serving on additional committees, including Energy and Utilities and Appropriations.
I believe financial transparency and government accountability are absolutely necessary for a healthy government. After all, it is the people's money that funds our government and their votes that put us in office.
I can see both sides of this issue. If such a process is ever seriously considered by the Georgia legislature, I will have to give it further study and thought.

Note: Ballotpedia reserves the right to edit Candidate Connection survey responses. Any edits made by Ballotpedia will be clearly marked with [brackets] for the public. If the candidate disagrees with an edit, he or she may request the full removal of the survey response from Ballotpedia.org. Ballotpedia does not edit or correct typographical errors unless the candidate's campaign requests it.

2022

Mary Frances Williams did not completeBallotpedia's 2022 Candidate Connection survey.

2020

Mary Frances Williams did not completeBallotpedia's 2020 Candidate Connection survey.


Campaign finance summary

Ballotpedia LogoNote: The finance data shown here comes from the disclosures required of candidates and parties. Depending on the election or state, this may represent only a portion of all the funds spent on their behalf.Satellite spending groups may or may not have expended funds related to the candidate or politician on whose page you are reading this disclaimer. Campaign finance data from elections may be incomplete. For elections to federal offices, complete data can be found at theFEC website. Clickhere for more on federal campaign finance law andhere for more on state campaign finance law.

Mary Frances Williams campaign contribution history
YearOfficeStatusContributionsExpenditures
2024Georgia House of Representatives District 37Won general$108,823 $117,836
2022Georgia House of Representatives District 37Won general$89,244 $0
2020Georgia House of Representatives District 37Won general$229,653 N/A**
2018Georgia House of Representatives District 37Won general$99,430 N/A**
Grand total$527,150 $117,836
Sources:OpenSecrets, Federal Elections Commission ***This product uses the openFEC API but is not endorsed or certified by the Federal Election Commission (FEC).
** Data on expenditures is not available for this election cycle
Note: Totals above reflect only available data.

Scorecards

See also:State legislative scorecards andState legislative scorecards in Georgia

Ascorecard evaluates a legislator’s voting record. Its purpose is to inform voters about the legislator’s political positions. Because scorecards have varying purposes and methodologies, each report should be considered on its own merits. For example, an advocacy group’s scorecard may assess a legislator’s voting record on one issue while a state newspaper’s scorecard may evaluate the voting record in its entirety.

Ballotpedia is in the process of developing an encyclopedic list of published scorecards. Some states have a limited number of available scorecards or scorecards produced only by select groups. It is Ballotpedia’s goal to incorporate all available scorecards regardless of ideology or number.

Click here for an overview of legislative scorecards in all 50 states.  To contribute to the list of Georgia scorecards, email suggestions toeditor@ballotpedia.org.


2024

To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2024, click [show].   

In 2024, theGeorgia State Legislature was in session from January 8 to March 28.

Legislators are scored on their votes on bills related to civil rights issues.
Legislators are scored on their votes on bills related to business issues.
Legislators are scored on their votes on environmental issues.
Legislators are scored on their votes on bills related to business issues.


2023

To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2023, click [show].   

In 2023, theGeorgia State Legislature was in session from January 9 to March 29.

Legislators are scored on their votes on bills related to business issues.


2022

To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2022, click [show].   

In 2022, theGeorgia State Legislature was in session from January 10 to April 4.

Legislators are scored on their votes on bills related to business issues.
Legislators are scored on their votes on bills related to business issues.


2021

To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2021, click [show].   

In 2021, theGeorgia State Legislature was in session from January 11 to March 31.

Legislators are scored on their votes on bills related to civil rights issues.
Legislators are scored on their votes on bills related to economic issues.
Legislators are scored on their votes on bills related to business issues.
Legislators are scored on their votes on conservative issues.


2020

To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2020, click [show].   

In 2020, theGeorgia State Legislature was in session from January 13 to June 26. The session was suspended from March 13 through June 11.

Legislators are scored on their votes on bills related to economic issues.
Legislators are scored on their votes on bills related to business issues.
Legislators are scored on their votes on environmental issues.
Legislators are scored on their votes on bills related to business issues.
Legislators are scored on their votes on conservative issues.


2019

To view all the scorecards we found for this legislator in 2019, click [show].   

In 2019, theGeorgia General Assembly was in session from January 14 through April 2.

Legislators are scored on their votes on bills related to economic issues.
Legislators are scored on their votes on social issues.
Legislators are scored on their votes on bills related to business issues.
Legislators are scored on their votes on conservative issues.






See also


External links

Candidate

Georgia House of Representatives District 37

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    • Footnotes

    1. ↑"Georgia House of Representatives"Representative Mary Frances Williams, accessed March 30, 2020
    2. ↑Information submitted to Ballotpedia through the Candidate Connection survey on October 6, 2024

    Political offices
    Preceded by
    -    		Georgia House of Representatives District 37
    2019-Present    		Succeeded by
    -


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