Lynne Williams
Encyclopedia
Lynne Williams is a Maine
politician and lawyer. The former chairperson of the Maine Green Independent Party
, she was a candidate for the party's nomination for Governor of Maine
in the 2010 election
before dropping out of the race on March 15, 2010. A resident of Bar Harbor
, Williams serves on the town's planning board. After dropping out of the race, Williams announced her candidacy for the Maine Senate
for District 28.
, where she received an M.A. in Experimental Psychology in 1975. After getting her degree from Brooklyn College, Lynne attended the University of Southern California
and worked towards a Ph.D. in Social Psychology, which she received in 1981.
After receiving her Ph.D., Williams became a community and political organizer, working with tenant groups in California and as a fundraiser for the 1982 successful state legislative campaign of Tom Hayden. She also worked against the Diablo Canyon Power Plant
as a member of the Abalone Alliance. For many years, Lynne practiced interpersonal and community mediation, the topic of her doctoral dissertation.
In 1983, Williams moved to New Hampshire to work on the presidential campaign of Democrat Gary Hart, subsequently working for Hart in Massachusetts, Michigan, Tennessee and California.
In 1988, her son, Brendan, was born with multiple physical birth defects and Lynne became very involved with groups advocating for the rights of those with disabilities. During this time she owned and managed a bookstore in San Francisco as well as a medical and legal transcription business in Marin County, California. She enrolled full-time in the Golden Gate University School of Law, receiving her law degree in 1998. A Dean’s List student, she graduated with a certificate in public interest law and an American Jurisprudence award in corporate law.
Later that year, Williams and her son moved to Maine, where she worked for Medical Care Development in Augusta for a year, designing training protocol for home-care providers. She worked for six years as an independent special education hearing officer, and she now represents families with special needs children. She also specializes in estate planning for families with disabled family members and those with mental illness. Williams also practices land use and environmental law throughout the state of Maine.
In 2004, Williams ran for the Maine State House of Representatives District 47 seat, she received 12.7% of the vote finishing third.
Williams lives in Bar Harbor, is an occasional visiting professor at the College of the Atlantic
, and runs a solo law practice.
Maine
Maine is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States, bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the east and south, New Hampshire to the west, and the Canadian provinces of Quebec to the northwest and New Brunswick to the northeast. Maine is both the northernmost and easternmost...
politician and lawyer. The former chairperson of the Maine Green Independent Party
Maine Green Independent Party
The Maine Green Independent Party is the oldest state Green party in the United States. It was founded following an informal meeting of 18 environmental advocates, including Bowdoin College professor John Rensenbrink and others in Augusta, Maine...
, she was a candidate for the party's nomination for Governor of Maine
Governor of Maine
The governor of Maine is the chief executive of the State of Maine. Before Maine was admitted to the Union in 1820, Maine was part of Massachusetts and the governor of Massachusetts was chief executive....
in the 2010 election
Maine gubernatorial election, 2010
The 2010 Maine gubernatorial election took place on November 2, 2010. Incumbent Democratic Governor John Baldacci was term-limited and unable to seek re-election. Primary elections took place on June 8, 2010...
before dropping out of the race on March 15, 2010. A resident of Bar Harbor
Bar Harbor, Maine
Bar Harbor is a town on Mount Desert Island in Hancock County, Maine, United States. As of the 2010 census, its population is 5,235. Bar Harbor is a famous summer colony in the Down East region of Maine. It is home to the College of the Atlantic, Jackson Laboratory and Mount Desert Island...
, Williams serves on the town's planning board. After dropping out of the race, Williams announced her candidacy for the Maine Senate
Maine Senate
The Maine Senate is the upper house of the Maine Legislature, the state legislature of the U.S. state of Maine. The Senate currently consists of 35 members representing an equal number of districts across the state, though the Maine Constitution allows for "an odd number of Senators, not less than...
for District 28.
Career
In 1967 Williams left New York to attend college in Bradford Junior College in Haverhill, Massachusetts. She graduated in 1972 from Merrimack College in North Andover, Massachusetts, with a B.A. in psychology. She returned to New York City and attended Brooklyn CollegeBrooklyn College
Brooklyn College is a senior college of the City University of New York, located in Brooklyn, New York, United States.Established in 1930 by the New York City Board of Higher Education, the College had its beginnings as the Downtown Brooklyn branches of Hunter College and the City College of New...
, where she received an M.A. in Experimental Psychology in 1975. After getting her degree from Brooklyn College, Lynne attended the University of Southern California
University of Southern California
The University of Southern California is a private, not-for-profit, nonsectarian, research university located in Los Angeles, California, United States. USC was founded in 1880, making it California's oldest private research university...
and worked towards a Ph.D. in Social Psychology, which she received in 1981.
After receiving her Ph.D., Williams became a community and political organizer, working with tenant groups in California and as a fundraiser for the 1982 successful state legislative campaign of Tom Hayden. She also worked against the Diablo Canyon Power Plant
Diablo Canyon Power Plant
Diablo Canyon Power Plant is an electricity-generating nuclear power plant at Avila Beach in San Luis Obispo County, California. The plant has two Westinghouse-designed 4-loop pressurized-water nuclear reactors operated by Pacific Gas & Electric. The facility is located on about in Avila Beach,...
as a member of the Abalone Alliance. For many years, Lynne practiced interpersonal and community mediation, the topic of her doctoral dissertation.
In 1983, Williams moved to New Hampshire to work on the presidential campaign of Democrat Gary Hart, subsequently working for Hart in Massachusetts, Michigan, Tennessee and California.
In 1988, her son, Brendan, was born with multiple physical birth defects and Lynne became very involved with groups advocating for the rights of those with disabilities. During this time she owned and managed a bookstore in San Francisco as well as a medical and legal transcription business in Marin County, California. She enrolled full-time in the Golden Gate University School of Law, receiving her law degree in 1998. A Dean’s List student, she graduated with a certificate in public interest law and an American Jurisprudence award in corporate law.
Later that year, Williams and her son moved to Maine, where she worked for Medical Care Development in Augusta for a year, designing training protocol for home-care providers. She worked for six years as an independent special education hearing officer, and she now represents families with special needs children. She also specializes in estate planning for families with disabled family members and those with mental illness. Williams also practices land use and environmental law throughout the state of Maine.
In 2004, Williams ran for the Maine State House of Representatives District 47 seat, she received 12.7% of the vote finishing third.
Williams lives in Bar Harbor, is an occasional visiting professor at the College of the Atlantic
College of the Atlantic
The College of the Atlantic, founded in 1969, is a private, alternative liberal-arts college located in Bar Harbor on Mount Desert Island, Maine, United States. It awards a bachelor's degree solely in the field of human ecology, though with a variety of emphases. The college is small, with...
, and runs a solo law practice.