About Sean
State Representative Sean Williams is known for being easily accessible to the people of Oakville, Watertown and Woodbury and takes pride in his record of service to the 68th Assembly District.
Representative Williams distinguished himself early in his legislative career as a proponent of fiscal restraint, responsible spending and tax relief. He has consistently opposed moves by some legislators to pass expensive new spending programs, raise taxes, and impose new unfunded state mandates on Connecticut’s municipalities,
Unfunded mandates require municipalities to offer certain programs and services but do not include financial assistance to help towns defray the costs of providing them. Unfunded mandates are a major reason why local property taxes have increased dramatically over the past 20 years.
Representative Williams believes the most effective way to reform the local property tax system is to provide municipalities with the tools they need to control local spending, including a prohibition on the imposition of new unfunded mandates on towns or the broadening of existing ones.
Representative Williams also strongly supports reform of the current binding arbitration system, which can force towns to accept new contracts with municipal government employee unions that include substantial pay and benefit hikes that can lead to increases in the property tax burden on local taxpayers.
Quality of life issues are also important to Representative Williams, who supports measures to preserve the rural character of Connecticut’s small towns; legislation to help ensure compassionate care for the elderly and the disabled; and measures to protect children from dangerous sex offenders.
Recognizing Representative Williams for his hard work as a member of the General Assembly’s Energy & Technology Committee, House Republican Leader Lawrence F. Cafero Jr, R-Norwalk, appointed him as the House Ranking Member (Republican Leader) on the committee for the 2007 – 2008 legislative sessions. He was re-appointed to the position for 2009-2010.
He also serves on the Commerce and Insurance & Real Estate committees.
He is a former member of the Education and Labor & Public Employees committees.
Representative Williams, who has served on the Energy & Technology Committee since he was first elected to the state House of Representatives in a special election in 2003, has always been a strong advocate for Connecticut’s utility ratepayers. In addition to his efforts to hold down rate increases, Representative Williams is a strong supporter of initiatives to diversify Connecticut’s energy supplies, including wider use of renewable energy sources and expanding the capacity of trash to energy plants throughout the state.
As a member of the Commerce Committee, Representative Williams strongly supports measures to make Connecticut a more business-friendly state to attract out-of-state employers and encourage existing companies to expand their in-state operations.
Representative Williams is committed to reducing the red tape that makes it difficult to do business in Connecticut and lowering the tax burden on employers that makes many out-of-state companies reluctant to move here and discourages existing firms from creating new jobs.
As a member of the Insurance & Real Estate Committee, Representative Williams works to pass legislation to make health care more affordable for the people of Connecticut. He supports measures that would authorize portable health plans; flexible health plans; and mandate-free plans for young adults between the ages of 19 and 26.
While serving on the Education Committee, Representative Williams’ priorities included improving the quality of public education and reforming Connecticut’s Education Cost Sharing program to make the program more equitable to suburban and rural communities. The E. C. S. program provides annual state grants to local school districts to reduce education costs to local property taxpayers.
A lifelong Oakville resident, Representative Williams was re-elected in 2004, 2006,
