Ayanna T. Williams ’26 will become the first currently enrolled undergraduate student to serve as a member of Williamsburg City Council after securing a victory in Tuesday’s election where three seats were open. 

She is the fourth William & Mary student ever to be elected to city council, but the others took office after receiving their undergraduate degrees. She is also the first Black woman to be elected to the council in the city’s history.

“This means so much to me because I’ve been visiting Williamsburg since I was little and I love it here,” Williams said. “To be able to give back to the community means I’m not just visiting.” 

A junior from Chesterfield County majoring in government, Williams was one of five candidates running for council – and all have connections to William & Mary. In addition to Williams, they included incumbents Vice Mayor Pat Dent P ’15 and Barbara Ramsey ’75 plus Visiting Professor of the Practice of Law Lindsay Barna and Fraser Hudgins ’84, P ’20.

Both incumbents – Dent and Ramsey – were re-elected, meaning Williams will replace council member Caleb Rogers ’20, who was a W&M student himself when he ran for office in 2020. When Rogers announced he would not seek a second term, he heard from current students about filling his shoes.

“Several students approached me, but it was clear from the first time I met Ayanna that she had a level of dedication that would work well on council,” Rogers said.

Williams and her volunteer campaign staff met with hundreds of students and local residents during the campaign. Rogers, who formally endorsed Williams, says she worked hard reaching out to local residents.

“You have to show that you are engaged enough to be in the neighborhoods. She’s not the student representative,” he said. “You have to prove yourself to the permanent residents, too, and that’s where Ayanna showed her strength.”  

One weekend this fall, he checked in with her about how the campaign was going. “They had knocked on 500 doors on a Sunday,” he said. “Her team did a great job. She put herself in the best position to win.”

Williams does not come from a family of politicians. Her parents, Gene and Onika Williams, were children’s pastors; her mother’s degree was in chemical engineering. The oldest of three children, Williams was homeschooled until eighth grade. High school was a co-op which focused on classical education.

“I think that’s where my love for government and community service comes from,” she said. “There was an emphasis on learning how to think critically using founding documents. What does the Constitution say?”

She came to William & Mary because of a deep belief that “education can be transformative.”

“I was thrilled when I was accepted,” she said.

She had Williamsburg ties long before she arrived on campus. Her uncle was a city firefighter who is fondly remembered by his old boss – Dent.

In addition to Rogers, Williams follows two other W&M students who have served on the council in its 300-plus year history: Benny Zhang ’16, J.D. ’20 and Scott Foster ’10, J.D. ’14.

Rogers’ term does not expire until Dec. 31, so Williams will have a few weeks to get accustomed to juggling college classes and elected office.

Now that she’s won, does Rogers have advice?

“A big part of the job is just being available to people,” he said. “Getting back to the people who get in touch with you. She’s already shown she is going to do that.”