Jack Williams

Who was Jack Williams?

John Richard "Jack" Williams was an American radio announcer and politician. After gaining public recognition through Arizona through his work in radio, he went on to become a two-term Mayor of Phoenix, Arizona and a three-term Governor of Arizona. A constitutional amendment, approved by Arizona voters in 1968, resulted in Williams serving 8 years as governor and being the first governor of Arizona to serve a four-year term.

As Mayor of Phoenix, Williams led efforts to grow the city that produced a series of annexations and construction of new governmental buildings. As governor he focused primary on economic development within the state. His final term as governor was marred by a recall effort, led by Cesar Chavez, in response to his signing of a farm labor bill into law.