ONUMBA.COM – A conversation with State Representative Sandra Williams, Ohio House of Representatives, representing House District 11, and President of the Ohio Legislative Black Caucus (OLBC)
Mgbatogu – Let me start by asking you to introduce yourself to our readers – your hometown, your background, the district you represent, and of course, whatever else you would like to say about yourself. 
Williams – My name is Sandra Williams. I represent the 11th House district of Cleveland, Ohio. I was born in Cleveland, graduated Cleveland Public Schools, John Hay High School, Master’s degree from Tiffin University and Bachelor’s degree from Cleveland State University.
Mgbatogu – The House recently approved the governor’s $55.6 billion bi-annual budget, keeping intact nearly all of the governor’s cuts, to education, local government, school districts, and others. The senate approved it, and now it is in the conference committee. What’s your general take on the governor’s budget?
Williams – The governor’s budget, I believe, is an insult to the neediest people in the state of Ohio. We cut the budget for transportation by 39 percent when it left the House…over 11 percent of Cleveland population use RTA for all their needs, as far as going to work, going to the grocery store, and things like that. I believe local government cuts and the cuts to the libraries will be harmful to those people who use the services. The cuts to senior services are horrible.
Mgbatogu – It’s been quite an interesting 100 days for Gov. Kasich. During the campaign, he did say he would pursue some of these policies, and yet folks voted for him, including some who are now angry about his policies. Certainly, the governor did not get a huge mandate, but he won. What’s your reaction to that, and what message do you have for the people of Ohio in the next election?
Williams – Governor Kasich got elected by approximately 77,000 votes. Clearly that was not a mandate. I think some of the policies that Gov. Kasich is pushing right now; he made clear during his campaign. I believe, if nothing else, the Ohio voters should start focusing and paying attention to what the candidates say as opposed to their internal feelings about the persons who are in the office at that time. And many people were unhappy with the way Democratic leadership was running the state, also at the national level, the way our president is running the country. But he [Kasich] made it clear that he was going to do these things. And he is running it, as he said, like a business…turning everything into a business. We are privatizing most of the assets of the state of Ohio. I think it’s unfortunate. I think that the Ohio public will be losing out if we keep him in the office. He is running the state like a business for business. 
Mgbatogu –Ohio law requires the state to set aside 15% of its contracts for minority businesses. Recently, Kasich hinted he is thing about raising that number. One thing is very clear. The goal of 15% is not currently being met. What should the administration do to meet that goal, which by the way wasn’t met in the Strickland administration, either?
Williams – As you said, neither our current administration nor our past administration of Gov. Strickland has met the 15 percent set aside law. The fact that he said he is thinking about it clearly is not good enough. The fact is that this law has been on the books since the 1980’s. No governor has completely followed it the way it is supposed to go. We have worked hard in the Black caucus to try and enforce the law. We got an executive order through Gov. Strickland. And while he had not come close to the 15 percent, he at least attempted to do so in the interim. I think they all could do a lot better. I think also what they could do to get those numbers up is really start focusing on reaching out to minority businesses who are out there. Really, it is not hard to find Black businesses that can do the job.
Mgbatogu – Do you think that a Black person can win a U.S. Senate seat in Ohio?
Williams – Yes I do. I believe if we put the race aside and just look at credentials, there are a lot of African-American candidates in the state who can compete with anybody else that might run, whether they be Republican or Democrat. And I think if we look at the presidential election the last time, that’s evidence enough that an African-American can win [a senate seat] in the state.
Mgbatogu – Growing up, did you aspire to be a politician or did you consider going into a different career?
Williams – Growing up, I was always interested in the criminal justice system, from my first year law class at Joseph M. Gallagher on the West Side of Cleveland. From that point on, everything that I did focused in the area of law. I wanted to be a prosecutor, and I got here to the statehouse and started working here, and realized that there were so much more to offer to my constituents as opposed to being a prosecutor. This is a beautiful field and I am glad that I am in it.
Mgbatogu – Outside of folks in your family, who would you consider your hero(s), living or deceased?
Williams – I don’t know that I had a hero. There are a lot of women that I look up to, like Dorothy Height. Dr. Martin Luther King. Rev. Ottis Moss, Jr., Joyce Beatty. There are a lot of people that I admire.
Mgbatogu – Should Blacks do more to acknowledge and salute the life and work of Minister Malcolm X?
Williams – I would say yes. Malcolm X definitely made a great contribution to this country and to the world as a whole. I believe we could acknowledge his work a little more than we do. So, yes.
