Today we’d like to introduce you to Dan Williams.
Hi Dan, thanks for joining us today. We’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
I originally moved down here from Indiana to work at Walt Disney World. I loved Central Florida so much that after I graduated with a degree in Engineering from Purdue University, I made the permanent move. I am a long-time part-time Cast Member at Disney for over 24 years, but my full-time job is teaching as a college professor.
For more than 20 years, I’ve lived right here in the 11th District. I’ve spent my career in a classroom, teaching everything from coding to creative arts to fashion design. My day-to-day job is to take complicated concepts and make them easy to understand. This experience gave me a unique insight: an informed public is the foundation of a healthy democracy.
I’ve also been a part of a much bigger spotlight. I was nominated for a GLAAD award for the TV Show Who Wants to Be a Superhero? with Stan Lee. I created and portrayed my own superhero called Parthenon. I was out and proud on TV before it was widely acceptable. I learned that real-world courage is just as important as a cape, and I’m ready to be that hero fighting for democracy.
In addition to teaching, I have volunteered my time and talent all around Central Florida. From building sets for the Osceola Center for the Performing Arts to designing logos for countless businesses like Spektrum Health which focuses on serving the LGBTQ+ community. I used my multimedia background to help local groups like the Orlando Gay Chorus and QLatinX run virtual events during the pandemic.
I have always been interested in politics but usually looking in from the outside. Attending protests but never really thinking I could do more. When Trump got elected to a second term I knew I had to do more and get involved. For me, the final straw was seeing an image on the official White House Instagram, a photo of the President wearing a crown with the words “Long Live the King.” This told me everything that I needed to know about our current government. That moment spurred me to start volunteering with the Lake County Indivisibles. I contacted their leader, Cyn Doyle, and asked if they needed any help for an upcoming town hall. Long story short, I became the technical director of the event and have been with them ever since. This led me to opportunities to speak at protests, explaining what our current government is doing and how it is affecting us here in Florida. This quickly led me to realize that most people have a basic understanding of government at best, and that is intentional. They make it too complicated and involved for anyone to easily understand. Then, it all started to click for me. We don’t need another politician; we need someone who can teach the community what is actually going on and help break down these complicated topics into something that anyone can understand.
I also started asking questions about the status quo for our government and what I found was just more and more red tape. As a resident of a red district, I have no Democratic representatives I could actually talk to about this. I tried to reach out to other representatives, but they will only take suggestions and meet with people who live in their districts, even though I live 15 minutes away. I then started coming up with my idea that I will eventually base my whole campaign on, Direct Democracy. Where our elected officials will meet and listen to anyone, regardless of party. I decided to apply my skills as an engineer and professor to fix that problem. I started building a system that I planned on pitching to existing congress members, but my attempts to reach them resulted in no answers, only standard template letters. That is when I decided that if no one else would champion this idea, then I would, and that is when I decided to run for Congress, right here in my own Florida District 11!
This brings me to my core platform: Ask America. It’s a Direct Democracy initiative where for every major bill, I create short videos breaking it down, and my constituents can vote on it via an app. I pledge to always vote with the majority of the district, even if I personally disagree. Why should one person’s voice, even that of an elected official, have more say than anyone else’s. This system also bypasses special interests and lobbyists because they would have to lobby the whole community, not just one person.
I was about halfway through building this myself when I started talking with the Digital Democracy Project. They have a huge head start on Direct Democracy and even better they are based right here in Central Florida. They are also partnered up with Voatz, a mobile app that the government already uses to help deployed military personnel vote from overseas. This completely handles all of the security issues! Better yet, people can sign up and start voicing their opinion on laws right now and see how they stack up against their elected leaders! I am also facilitating a partnership between them and my college. This collaboration helps improve their platform while giving students first-hand experience with civil technology.
I’m running to end the back-and-forth political noise that stops us from getting anything done. I want to unite our district and actually start finding solutions. I plan on using facts and science instead of opinions. I will also seek out experts, concerned citizens, and working professionals to help create laws that provide real solutions to big issues, like rising costs and high healthcare premiums. This campaign will work to demystify our government and try to bring back people who have given up on it. I’m here to amplify this community’s voice and prove that democracy still works when we demand that it does. What I am proposing is an experiment and the first of its kind at the federal level. The country would be looking to us to see if this works and if it does this could spread to other districts or states. The best part is that I can do all of this without changing a single law. This will still be a representative democracy, only I will truly represent this district by listening to what you say.
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
The biggest challenge to starting a congressional campaign is building name recognition and communicating your platform. Reaching out to your own party is easy, but I am more interested in getting my message out to those who don’t agree with me and see how we can still work together.
Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
I am currently a full-time college professor at Full Sail University. I have been there for over a decade, and before that, I was the head of the Multimedia Education department of another school. I have taught a LOT of different subjects over the years. I started teaching at Walt Disney World, where I taught Microsoft Excel and Access. After that, I started doing adjunct teaching at a college, teaching fashion design with a focus in computer drawing and textile design. Some of the other classes I have taught over the years have been: 3d modeling, animation, video and audio production, web design, mobile app design, and more!
We’d love to hear about how you think about risk taking?
I am a huge fan of risk-taking. I think you have to take that leap into the unknown and give it a try! My whole current campaign is a HUGE swing. My idea is to change how Congress fundamentally works. I am undertaking no small task, and I am putting myself out there for all the criticism that goes with it. Luckily for me, I have a super supportive family and group of friends that will not only stand by my side but help lift me up! I can not thank them enough.
Taking risks is also nothing new for me. I have been an entrepreneur since I was 12. My parents owned a concessions business, so I decided to do the same and created my own snowcone company. It started small, but I kept reinvesting my money until I was about 14 when I was making $1,000 and hiring my friends to come and work with me. My whole family has that entrepreneur spirit, and I use my multimedia skills to help them in any way I can. I am extremely proud of my sister, who is launching her new company, Spice & Spirit, for which I created the logo and all packaging graphics. I am also proud of my mom and step-dad, who own multiple grilled cheese food trucks in Indiana.
Pricing:
- I am not selling anything, but if people would like to support my campaign they can donate on my website danwilliamsforcongress.com
Contact Info:
- Website: https://danwilliamsforcongress.com/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/danwilliamsforcongress/
- Twitter: https://x.com/Dan_Williams4FL
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCS2XjjNFW6GZMccxu5kniZg
Image Credits
The only one you have to credit is the full group picture from my TV show. It belongs to the SyFy Channel, but I do have permission to use it.
