Dohassen Gault-Williams (born June 29, 1974), better known as Das Williams, is an American politician who previously served as County Supervisor on the Santa Barbara County Board of Supervisors. He represented the First District, which encompasses Carpinteria, most of Santa Barbara, and parts of the Los Padres National Forest. In 2024, Williams was defeated for re-election in a bid for his second term by Carpinteria City Councilman Roy Lee by a 49%-51% margin.[1]
He formerly served in the California State Assembly, representing the 37th district, encompassing parts of Santa Barbara and Ventura counties. Before being elected to the state assembly, he was a member of the Santa Barbara City Council. He is a Democrat.[2]
Background
Williams is of Indonesian descent through his maternal grandfather.[3]
Before embarking in politics, Williams worked as a junior high school teacher and a legislative aide to then-assemblymember Hannah-Beth Jackson.
Williams holds a master’s degree in Environmental Science & Management, with a focus on water pollution, planning processes, and land-use law from the University of California, Santa Barbara‘s Bren School of Environmental Science & Management in 2005.[4] As a UC grad, Williams has opposed fee increases for the UC system.[5]
Williams got his start in politics as a member of the Santa Barbara City Council while still in graduate school, serving from 2003 until 2010.[6]
In the State Assembly, Das led the effort to pass a new gun control measure after the 2014 Isla Vista shootings; similar policies have since been adopted nationwide.[7] After the Thomas Fire and Montecito Debris Flow, Das was instrumental in passing ordinances that allowed homeowners to rebuild their lost property quickly.[8]
After terming out of the State Assembly in 2016, Williams successfully ran for Santa Barbara County Board of Supervisors, where he served from 2017 until 2024.[9]
2014 California State Assembly
| Primary election | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
| Democratic | Das Williams (incumbent) | 43,124 | 57.3 | |
| Republican | Ron DeBlauw | 32,110 | 42.7 | |
| Total votes | 75,234 | 100.0 | ||
| General election | ||||
| Democratic | Das Williams (incumbent) | 75,452 | 58.6 | |
| Republican | Ron DeBlauw | 53,414 | 41.4 | |
| Total votes | 128,866 | 100.0 | ||
| Democratic hold | ||||
References
- ^ “Statement of Votes Cast Election Summary Report – Santa Barbara County Elections – March 5, 2024 Presidential Primary Election – Certified Results”. County of Santa Barbara. Retrieved April 8, 2024.
- ^ “Santa Barbara City Council Candidate Profiles”. www.newspress.com. Retrieved June 4, 2019.
- ^ Welsh, Nick (May 9, 2024). “Supervisor Williams Reflects on Indonesian Roots for AAPI Heritage Month”. The Santa Barbara Independent. Retrieved April 14, 2026.
- ^ “Das Williams First District Supervisor”. countyofsb.org. Retrieved April 28, 2022.
- ^ “Assemblyman Williams Issues Statement on Proposed UC Fee Increase”. Noozhawk. November 19, 2014. Retrieved September 5, 2016.
- ^ “Das Williams”. Latino Caucus of California Counties. Retrieved April 14, 2026.
- ^ “Firearms Checks Sought after Isla Vista Shootings”. June 11, 2014. Archived from the original on October 18, 2019. Retrieved October 18, 2019.
- ^ “Board Approves Like for Like Building code update”. Archived from the original on December 3, 2020. Retrieved October 18, 2019.
- ^ Lundy, Matt (January 17, 2025). “Former State Legislator and Santa Barbara County Supervisor Das Williams Joins Central Coast Community Energy as Senior Advisor of Policy and Legislative Affairs » California Community Choice Association (CalCCA)”. Retrieved April 14, 2026.