Monday, January 31, 2000
Williams not typical city leader
She didn't finish high school, started tax business at age 16
BY JANET C. WETZEL
The Cincinnati Enquirer
MIDDLETOWN — Laura Williams defies stereotypes.
Early on, she debunked the myths that women are weak in math and business skills, and that a college degree is essential to success.
She was just 16 when she founded a tax preparation office, which she's nurtured into the largest of its kind by volume in an IRS district encompassing Ohio, Kentucky, Indiana and parts of West Virginia and Michigan.
Her life has been a continual learning experience, but not within the walls of a university. In fact, she never finished high school.
She's involved in politics, but she's not a politician.
And Mrs. Williams, who stepped into the new role of city commissioner Jan. 1, is not intimidated by being the only female on the commission.
“She believes in right and wrong, and she stands on that regardless of where the chips fall,” said Knight Goodman, a longtime acquaintance who ran her campaign last fall. “She's diplomatic, but when the chips are down, she stands her own ... it's rare to hear someone criticize her.”
She's known for her sense of humor, intelligence, honesty and staunchly defending her strong convictions, he said.
Mrs. Williams, one of only six women to ever serve on the City Commission here, sat behind the desk at her Laura Williams & Associates office recently and discussed her philosophies.
“I value honesty and integrity,” said Mrs. Williams, her long black hair pulled back in a chignon, with frequent smiles warming a face that belies its 64 years.
“People have honored me by electing me,” she said, frequently slapping her hand on her desk to emphasize a point. “I take this very seriously. I want to be able to understand within myself why I make a decision.”
In a recent debate over selecting a commission chair, Mrs. Williams was adamant that the most qualified person be chosen, and she called for an end to the practice of taking turns.
She has long been known for her busy tax office and as an active volunteer for various organizations. But politics catapulted her to household-name status, Mr. Goodman said.
She was the top vote-getter of eight candidates in the November election, despite criticism by some about her refusal to say she would abstain on City Centre Mall issues because her husband, Tom Williams, owns property in the mall.
“I said my husband would never ask me to vote against my conscience, and my conscience would not allow me to make a decision not in the best interest of the whole city,” Mrs. Williams said. She recently changed her mind be cause her vote might cause loss of public support or possible waste of tax money on lawsuits.
The Middletown native was just a child when her family splintered. She persevered, despite abject poverty. She was a helper in a tax preparation office at age 12, and the next year started doing the tax forms for that office. She married in 1951, at age 16, and in 1954, she and her husband moved to California, where she opened a home tax business. Back in Middletown in 1955, she opened the first business devoted to tax preparation here.
Her first office was a tiny storeroom with no bathroom and no chair, and her desk was a neck-high television repair stand. Rent was $10 a month.
As the business grew, she bought an old house in 1971, then expanded to a newer, larger building in 1993. The business has grown from one client to more than 7,000, open year-around with a staff of 22 in peak months.
“The best part is I've been given an opportunity to meet so many wonderful people,” she said.
Mrs. Williams said she was asked to run for City Commission in the 1970s but couldn't afford it “financially, emotionally or timewise.” But last fall, when Paul Nenni, the commission's only small-business owner was stepping down, she decided it was time.
“I looked at the commission and saw no one who looked like me,” said Mrs. Williams, mother of two daughters and grandmother of seven. “And I have a passion for that downtown area. I cannot imagine a city without a heart. That struck me, inspired me to run.”
Mrs. Williams said she's eager to learn her new job.
“A commissioner is the servant of the public, and that's who they should answer to,” she said. “I don't think any change I make, any influence I have will be because I'm a woman, but because of the person I am.”
Her goals include addressing urgent needs of the “ancient” infrastructure, encouraging neighborhoods to band together for strength and improvements, and encouraging industrial growth.
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Williams not typical city leader
