Description

An oral history conducted by Gloria Rhodes with former County Supervisor Leon Williams on October 28, 2008. In 1969, Williams became the first African American elected to the San Diego City Council as a representative for District IV. He later became County Supervisor in 1982. During Williams' years in the City Council, he helped initiate the Southeast Economic Development Corporation (SEDC), which promoted land use programs in order to revitalize and sustain Southeast San Diego. He similarly endorsed the downtown redevelopment project. In addition to (re)development projects, Williams' Prevention Policy sought to create long-term solutions for issues such as crime, drugs, welfare, and health concerns. He was a proponent of needle exchange programs to help fight against AIDS, and was a major supporter of the anti-smoking ordinance. During this time, Williams also taught public policy classes part-time at San Diego State University. Williams was extremely active with the Metropolitan Transit Development Board (MTDB). In 1976, he began his long tenure with the MTDB, and in 1994 was appointed Chairman of the Transit System's Board of Directors. He believed the San Diego Trolley was a means to connect and revitalize San Diego's older neighborhoods, rather than expand into undeveloped areas. He retired from City Council in 1995, and the MTDB in 2005. This oral history was made possible by a grant from the President's Leadership Fund and is part of Creating Community: African Americans in San Diego. Names mentioned during the interview include: Margaret Williams, Jack Kimbrough, George A. Scott, Hamilton Marston, Will C. Crawford, Ernest Hartzog, Larry Carlin, Michael Schaefer, William Jones, Rosalind Winstead, Wes Pratt, Tony Young, and Jim Mills (California senator).