Jackson Williams

Jackson Williams is involved in real estate and politics. He lives in Austin, Texas, a progressive island in a Lone Star sea of conservatism. That sea is roiling anew. Williams saw his first paid political action in 1984, while managing a real estate portfolio for a large developer. Moonlighting, he created the advertising for Dallas mayoral hopeful Max Goldblatt. His idea was to graft the book/film title "Viva Max" onto the candidate's persona, using radio/TV, billboards, bus placards, whatever the budget could afford. As luck had it, the book’s author was famed PBS journalist Jim Lehrer, who counted Max as an old friend. Permission granted, the colorful campaign garnered widespread media coverage, including a New York Times profile. Goldblatt missed an '85 runoff – against the incumbent -- by a mere 472 votes, the closest mayor's race in the city's history. Shenanigans with Diebold vote-counting machines factored into the finish, a controversy that would later reemerge at the presidential level. Williams also worked with crusading Texas Attorney General Jim Mattox on various statewide efforts (Attorney General, Governor, U.S. Senate) and business interests. There’s a related tale in the 2003 best-selling book "Bush's Brain: How Karl Rove Made George W. Bush Presidential." Throughout the years, Williams has been active in numerous political endeavors, personally and professionally. He's raised millions of dollars, done advance work and opposition research, and passionately argued policy differences. He looks forward to the day when certain campaign anecdotes and horror stories finally outlast their antagonists.