Brendan Williams

Who is Brendan Williams?

Brendan Williams is an attorney in Alexandria, VA. Executive director of the Washington Health Care Association prior to elective office, he has also worked as a private practice attorney and a deputy insurance commissioner in Olympia, Washington. He served as a Democratic Party member of the Washington House of Representatives, representing the 22nd district from 2005 to 2011. Williams is the author of four law review articles, most recently in the Gonzaga Law Review, and dozens of newspaper columns largely advocating for the care of those with disabilities.

While the head of WHCA, Williams argued a tax case against the Washington Department of Revenue on behalf of boarding homes and negotiated a settlement ratified by the Legislature in 2004. Under the settlement, estimated to be worth over $31 million in just the first four years, boarding homes pay less than one-fifth of the tax rate the state was looking to impose through a change in regulatory interpretation.

As a legislator, Williams promised to serve only three terms and was willing to take on his own party. In 2010, for example, he worked to save a correctional facility in a Republican district.