Suzanne Williams

Suzanne Williams is a politician in the U.S. state of Colorado. She is a Comanche; during her terms of office, she was the only enrolled American Indian state legislator in Colorado. She belongs to the Democratic Party.

Suzanne Williams
Member of the Colorado Senate
from the 28th district
In office
2004–2011
Succeeded byNancy Todd
Personal details
Political partyDemocratic
Spouse(s)Ed
Education
  • MA, Special Education, University of Colorado, 1974
  • BS, Baylor University, 1967
Profession
  • Special Education Teacher, Cherry Creek School, 1978-2000
  • Learning Specialist, Public Education

Williams is related to J. Howard Williams, a former Texas president of the Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary.[1] Before running for office, she was a Special Education Professional in the Cherry Creek School District for 22 years. In the 1990s, Williams was nominated and named "Mother of the Year" in Colorado.[2]

In 2004 Williams was elected to the Colorado State Sentate. She served as assistant caucus chair for the Senate Majority Caucus, vice-chair on the Business, Labor and Technology Committee, and vice-chair of the Transportation Committee. As an American Indian, she was the only enrolled Native state legislator in Colorado.

On December 26, 2010, Williams was involved in a fatal car crash near Channing, Texas. The car Williams was driving veered into oncoming traffic, killing Brianna Michelle Gomez.[3] Williams' son and two grandsons weren't wearing seatbelts and were hospitalized with injuries.[3] Williams faced a grand jury investigation; no criminal indictment was issued.[4] She was later cited with three misdemeanor traffic violations.[5] Williams faced significant criticism for the seat belt violations given her efforts to introduce legislation allowing police to pull over and ticket drivers should they observe seat belts not in use. Subsequently, losing her expected promotion to Chairwoman of the Colorado State Senate Transportation Committee. [6]

References
  1. Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary.
  2. CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — Extensions of Remarks. May 14, 2004. https://www.congress.gov/crec/2004/05/14/CREC-2004-05-14-pt1-PgE846.pdf
  3. Texas police investigate fatal crash involving Colorado state senator, CNN, December 28, 2010
  4. Colorado State Senator Likely to Face Grand Jury in Deadly Texas Crash, January 6, 2011
  5. Colorado state Sen. Suzanne Williams cited with 3 traffic misdemeanors after fatal Texas crash, May 24, 2011
  6. "Sen. Williams loses powerful post after fatal crash in Texas". The Denver Post. 2011-01-10. Retrieved 2021-01-10.
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