Politics
George Williams, long involved in Missouri Republican politics, was appointed a circuit court judge for the St. Louis region in 1906, a position he would hold until 1912. In that position he was a key player in developing a new juvenile code for Missouri, and took a strong interest in bettering the lives of children that lasted even after he left the court. As chair of the St. Louis Board of Children's Guardians, he helped establish Bellefontaine Farms, a home for troubled, orphaned, and abandoned children.
In 1922 Williams was named as a delegate to the Missouri Constitutional Convention, where his acumen for business law proved especially valuable. The convention allowed Williams to gain some name recognition around the state as well as he chaired several important committees. In 1923, in appreciation for his service, Missouri Valley College awarded him an honorary Doctor of Laws degree. With the unexpected death of Senator Selden Spencer in May, 1925 George H. Williams was tapped by Missouri Governor Sam Baker to fill the remaining eighteen months of Spencer's term until the 1926 general election. As senator, Williams served as chairman of the Committee to Audit and Control the Contingent Expenses, and as a member of the Committee on Private Land Claims. George Williams defeated two fellow Republicans, David M. Proctor and Blodgdett Priest, with 56-percent of the vote to win the August 1926 U.S. Senate primary. However in the November general election he lost to Democratic challenger Harry B. Hawes 52-percent to 48-percent.
Read more about this topic: George Howard Williams
Famous quotes containing the word politics:
“Our democracy, our culture, our whole way of life is a spectacular triumph of the blah. Why not have a political convention without politics to nominate a leader who’s out in front of nobody?... Maybe our national mindlessness is the very thing that keeps us from turning into one of those smelly European countries full of pseudo-reds and crypto-fascists and greens who dress like forest elves.”
—P.J. (Patrick Jake)
“From the beginning, the placement of [Clarence] Thomas on the high court was seen as a political end justifying almost any means. The full story of his confirmation raises questions not only about who lied and why, but, more important, about what happens when politics becomes total war and the truth—and those who tell it—are merely unfortunate sacrifices on the way to winning.”
—Jane Mayer, U.S. journalist, and Jill Abramson b. 1954, U.S. journalist. Strange Justice, p. 8, Houghton Mifflin (1994)