Candidate Biography (submitted by candidate):

I am the knee baby and third son of six children of World War II Veteran -- Army Master Sergeant Russell Williams, and second grade school teacher (and skilled pianist) Sadie K. Williams.

We were raised in the Catholic faith and all of us fully participated in every conceivable Church activity. Our home life was very disciplined, happily busy and replete with music and active involvement in sports. No less than excellent academic performances were expected of each of us.

In the first election ever conducted after the consolidation of the three racially segregated school systems in Lumberton, I was elected Student Body President of Lumberton Senior High School.

After having been elected and successfully serving, similarly, as Student Body President of UNC Chapel Hill and the University of Minnesota School of Law, I embarked on a career representing the working poor and indigents via a network of Legal Services Programs. For seventeen years I served as CEO/Executive Director of rural (Ahoskie) or urban mixed (e.g. Wilmington) programs spanning eighteen counties in N.C. We balanced every budget and I supervised staffs that specialized in delivering high quality legal advocacy in the lives of the economically disadvantaged at the time they needed it most.

Please see my website: NowWeShall.com

With the N.C. jobless rate at a 34 year high, and the nation spending at an unsustainable level, it is time to elect a U.S. Senator with a new vision for the future. The people of N.C. deserve a United States Senator who will focus on their day to day needs, and not just cater to the desires of the bankers, the lobbyists and the super rich.

North Carolinians can now elect a U.S. Senator who has a proven track record of initiating frugal, creative economic development solutions, without engaging in deceptive, high-arching rhetoric or profligate spending. Together, North Carolinians of good will and I will fight and win, and foster 2lst Century advancements in our economy, education, health care, infrastructure and the environment.

I will recruit the best and brightest citizens from across North Carolina, from multiple political affiliations, to serve on our staff to assure that all the people of our great State have the finest constituent service. My unique, God given ability to gain and share the trust of other constructively motivated people and collaborate with them around specific purposes, projects and ideas will enable us to attract resources for targeted economic progress in North Carolina.

We will insure that merit based decision making -- not political brokering, posturing or brinkmanship -- will become the standard for conducting business for the people. With your vote, input and your continuous involvement, we will fight and succeed for the benefit of our future generations.