Page 2 - Florida Sentinel 6-19-20

Feature
Tampa Native Is Demo Candidate For Texas House Of Representatives
BY GWEN HAYES Sentinel Editor
She will be on the Novem- ber 2020 Presidential Ballot with the Republican opponent
Likeithia Williams has always considered herself a leader, in her community and throughout her country.
After 24 years in the United States Army, a medical procedure caused her to retire on Valentine’s Day, February 14, 2019.
The Tampa native, known as Captain “KeKe” Williams, recently won the Democratic nomination as the candidate for the Texas State House of Representatives, Dis- trict 54 just north of Austin, most of the city of Killeen, in- cluding Ft. Hood). Her name will be among those on the No- vember 2020 Presidential Bal- lot against her Republican opponent.
She’ll be a historic figure as the first female veteran to serve in the Texas House. She’s confident that she can win the seat. “The Red (Re- publican) community has ac- cepted me with open arms. They, too, want change,” she said.
Entering the military as a dedicated Dental Assistant as a Private 1st Class and rising to the ranks of Captain before re- tiring, Ms. Williams had no plans of just sitting around.
up in Tampa (College Hill Homes, she lived with her grandmother until she was 13 years 0ld), Ms. Williams says it is important for her to become a public servant. “My goal is to inspire young women raised in low income neigh- borhoods to seize their dreams and rise above their circum- stances,” she explains.
She supports providing access to quality, affordable healthcare to every American, regardless of whom they are or where they live.
“We have to support the unemployed and get people back to work quickly, once the crisis has passed,” she said. However, she wants more state funding for local public schools and to end the “school to prison” pipeline. “I support criminal justice reform and be- lieve in safe neighborhoods for everyone, not just the privi- leged.”
Campaigning During Protests
Campaigning projects have been limited due to social distancing caused by COVID- 19. Ms. Williams has joined those who are protesting. As a matter of fact, “the protesting has ramped up our fight for in- equality. We’ve been out late evenings walking with the peo- ple,” she said in a phone inter- view.
Ms. Williams is the mother of a daughter, Cyn-
thia, who is disabled, but graduated from Harker Heights High School in 2019.
She is the daughter of Donnie Williams and the late Cynthia Davis Williams.
Locally, Ms. Williams is a member of the Davis Fam- ily – the late Sgt. 1C Wilbert Davis was her uncle. Her grandmother is Mrs. Willie Mae Davis Lane. Some other family members are: sis-
ter, Shakita Williams; un- cles, Solomon Davis, Robert Davis, LTC (Re- tired) Willie Davis and Roosevelt Williams; aunts, Ellastine Lightbody, Peggy Berger and Casandra Wat- son.
Ms. Williams asks her Tampa community to follow her campaign on social media: FB - /kekefortexas,
Twitter and Instagram - @kekefortexas.
LIKEITHIA ‘KEKE’ WILLIAMS
“I still wanted to serve my community and my country, and this was a good way to do that (run for public office). I’ll have a different format to serve the people.”
She volunteers with or- ganizations in Killeen to raise awareness around sex traffick- ing and sexual abuse.
Ms. Williams’ dedica- tion led to her unanimous se- lection as a Staff Sergeant and then the position of Noncom- mission Officer in charge of one of the Army’s largest Den- tal Clinic Facilities.
It was the Army that gave her the opportunity to earn her Bachelor’s Degree while serv- ing active duty. After gradua- tion, she returned to Texas to become the Company Com- mander with the Fort Hood Garrison.
Because of where she grew
PAGE 2-A FLORIDA SENTINEL BULLETIN PUBLISHED EVERY FRIDAY FRIDAY, JUNE 19, 2020