Billy Williams was the United States Attorney for the District of Oregon from 2015-2021. Billy is a non-affiliated voter (“NAV”) and is a proponent of open primaries in Oregon.
Billy talks about why he’s a NAV and why he is not registered as an Independent. He explains why he thinks we need open primaries in Oregon. He also talks about Oregon’s status as a sanctuary state and other issues related to Immigration and Customs Enforcement (“ICE”).
Billy has spent the majority of his life in public service, beginning with work for the Metropolitan Public Defender and then as a law clerk for the US Attorney's Office for the District of Oregon. He was later hired by the Multnomah County DA’s Office, where he worked for eleven years. He served in the U.S. Attorney’s Office for eighteen years.
Billy has had the unusual distinction of serving as U.S. Attorney under both Democrat and Republican presidential administrations. Billy’s service as the acting U.S. Attorney for the District of Oregon began with a telephone call from Eric Holder, the U.S. Attorney General in the Obama Administration. Later, Billy was formally nominated by President Trump in 2017 to be the U.S. Attorney for the District of Oregon and confirmed by the Senate. His service spanned the longest federal government shutdown in the US; the Malheur Wildlife Refuge Occupation; the COVID-19 pandemic; the killing of George Floyd; and the Portland riots of 2020, which were primarily directed at the federal courthouse, where Billy’s office was located.
Billy has served in various volunteer capacities, including on the Board of Directors for Urban League of Portland and as an instructor for the Portland Police Detective’s Academy.
He is currently on the Leadership Council of the Foundation for Drug Policy Solutions (check out the Rational in Portland podcast episodes with Dr. Kevin Sabet, the President and CEO of the Foundation for Drug Policy Solutions, who served as the only bipartisan drug policy advisor to three U.S. presidential administrations, and Tom Wolf, who serves with Billy on the Leadership Council of the Foundation).
Billy was part of the Border and Immigration Subcommittee under President Obama.
Billy has also served on the Native American Issues Subcommittee; Civil Rights Subcommittee; Border and Immigration Subcommittee; Domestic Terrorism Executive Committee; the Ninth Circuit Fairness Committee; and as chair of the Attorney General’s Marijuana Working Group.
Our TOPPODCAST Picks 
Stay Connected
