{{Short description|American politician (born 1974)}} {{use mdy dates|date=August 2020}} {{Infobox officeholder | name = Das Williams | image = Das Williams.jpg | alt = | office = Former Member of the Santa Barbara County Board of Supervisors from the 1st District | term_start = January 2, 2017 | term_end = 2025 | predecessor = Salud Carbajal | successor = Roy Lee (elect) | state_assembly2 = California | district2 = 37th | term_start2 = December 6, 2010 | term_end2 = November 30, 2016 | predecessor2 = Pedro Nava | successor2 = Monique Limón | prior_term2 = 35th district (2010–2012) | office3 = Santa Barbara City Councilmember | term_start3 = December 4, 2002 | term_end3 = December 6, 2010 | predecessor3 = | successor3 = | birth_name = Dohassen Gault-Williams | birth_date = {{birth date and age|1974|6|29}} | birth_place = Soldotna, Alaska, U.S. | death_date = | death_place = | party = Democratic | spouse = Jonnie Erika Williams | children = 2 | alma_mater = University of California, Santa Barbara | occupation = | profession = Community organizer | signature = | website = | footnotes = }}
'''Dohassen Gault-Williams''' (born June 29, 1974), better known as '''Das Williams''', is an American politician who previously served as County Supervisor on the Santa Barbara County Board of Supervisors. He represented the First District, which encompasses Carpinteria, most of Santa Barbara, and parts of the Los Padres National Forest. In 2024, Williams was defeated for re-election in a bid for his second term by Carpinteria City Councilman Roy Lee by a 49%-51% margin.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://files.countyofsb.org/care/elections/results/2024march05/certified-results.htm|title=Statement of Votes Cast Election Summary Report – Santa Barbara County Elections – March 5, 2024 Presidential Primary Election – Certified Results|publisher=County of Santa Barbara|access-date=April 8, 2024}}</ref>
He formerly served in the California State Assembly, representing the 37th district, encompassing parts of Santa Barbara and Ventura counties. Before being elected to the state assembly, he was a member of the Santa Barbara City Council. He is a Democrat.<ref>{{Cite news |title=Santa Barbara City Council Candidate Profiles |work=www.newspress.com |url=http://www.newspress.com/profiles2003/profile092903.html |access-date=2019-06-04}}</ref>
==Background== Williams is of Indonesian descent through his maternal grandfather.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Welsh |first=Nick |date=2024-05-09 |title=Supervisor Williams Reflects on Indonesian Roots for AAPI Heritage Month |url=https://www.independent.com/2024/05/08/supervisor-williams-reflects-on-indonesian-roots-for-aapi-heritage-month/ |access-date=2026-04-14 |website=The Santa Barbara Independent |language=en-US}}</ref>
Before embarking in politics, Williams worked as a junior high school teacher and a legislative aide to then-assemblymember Hannah-Beth Jackson.
Williams holds a master's degree in Environmental Science & Management, with a focus on water pollution, planning processes, and land-use law from the University of California, Santa Barbara's Bren School of Environmental Science & Management in 2005.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.countyofsb.org/1632/First-District |title=Das Williams First District Supervisor |website=countyofsb.org |accessdate=April 28, 2022}}</ref> As a UC grad, Williams has opposed fee increases for the UC system.<ref>{{Cite news |date=2014-11-19 |title=Assemblyman Williams Issues Statement on Proposed UC Fee Increase |agency=Noozhawk |url=http://www.noozhawk.com/article/assemblyman_williams_issues_statement_on_proposed_uc_fee_increase |access-date=2016-09-05}}</ref>
Williams got his start in politics as a member of the Santa Barbara City Council while still in graduate school, serving from 2003 until 2010.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Das Williams |url=https://www.latinocaucusofcaliforniacounties.org/members-blog/das-williams-rc4k6 |access-date=2026-04-14 |website=Latino Caucus of California Counties |language=en-US}}</ref>
In the State Assembly, Das led the effort to pass a new gun control measure after the 2014 Isla Vista shootings; similar policies have since been adopted nationwide.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Firearms Checks Sought after Isla Vista Shootings|date=June 11, 2014|url=https://www.scpr.org/news/2014/06/11/44669/isla-vista-shootings-firearms-checks-sought-after/|access-date=October 18, 2019|archive-date=October 18, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191018040807/https://www.scpr.org/news/2014/06/11/44669/isla-vista-shootings-firearms-checks-sought-after/|url-status=dead}}</ref> After the Thomas Fire and Montecito Debris Flow, Das was instrumental in passing ordinances that allowed homeowners to rebuild their lost property quickly.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Board Approves Like for Like Building code update |url=https://readysbc.org/additional-resources/recovery-enews/board-approves-like-for-like-building-code-update |access-date=October 18, 2019 |archive-date=December 3, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201203194202/https://readysbc.org/additional-resources/recovery-enews/board-approves-like-for-like-building-code-update/ |url-status=dead }}</ref>
After terming out of the State Assembly in 2016, Williams successfully ran for Santa Barbara County Board of Supervisors, where he served from 2017 until 2024.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Lundy |first=Matt |date=2025-01-17 |title=Former State Legislator and Santa Barbara County Supervisor Das Williams Joins Central Coast Community Energy as Senior Advisor of Policy and Legislative Affairs » California Community Choice Association (CalCCA) |url=https://cal-cca.org/former-state-legislator-and-santa-barbara-county-supervisor-das-williams-joins-central-coast-community-energy-as-senior-advisor-of-policy-and-legislative-affairs/ |access-date=2026-04-14 |language=en-US}}</ref>
==2014 California State Assembly== {{see also|California State Assembly elections, 2014}} {{Election box open primary begin no change | title = California's 37th State Assembly district election, 2014 }} {{Election box candidate with party link no change | party = California Democratic Party | candidate = Das Williams (incumbent) | votes = 43,124 | percentage = 57.3 }} {{Election box candidate with party link no change | party = California Republican Party | candidate = Ron DeBlauw | votes = 32,110 | percentage = 42.7 }} {{Election box total no change | votes = 75,234 | percentage = 100.0 }} {{Election box open primary general election no change}} {{Election box winning candidate with party link no change | party = California Democratic Party | candidate = Das Williams (incumbent) | votes = 75,452 | percentage = 58.6 }} {{Election box candidate with party link no change | party = California Republican Party | candidate = Ron DeBlauw | votes = 53,414 | percentage = 41.4 }} {{Election box total no change | votes = 128,866 | percentage = 100.0 }} {{Election box hold with party link no change | winner = California Democratic Party }} {{Election box end}}
==References== {{Reflist}}
==External links== * {{URL| https://www.daswilliams2020.com | 2020 Campaign website}} * {{URL| http://www.joincalifornia.com/candidate/13700 | Join California - Das Williams}}
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Williams, Das}} Category:1974 births Category:Living people Category:People from Soldotna, Alaska Category:University of California, Santa Barbara alumni Category:People from Carpinteria, California Category:Politicians from Santa Barbara, California Category:California city council members Category:American community activists Category:Democratic Party members of the California State Assembly Category:21st-century members of the California State Legislature Category:American people of Indonesian descent Category:Asian-American state legislators Category:Asian-American state legislators in California