William Weston Mitchell, born November 12, 1956, in Savannah, Georgia, is a Democratic member of the Georgia House of Representatives representing District 88. He has served in the state legislature since January 13, 2003. Mitchell resides in Stone Mountain, Georgia, with his wife Shawn and two children, Maya and Sean.

Education

Mitchell holds a Bachelor of Science degree from Rutgers University and a Juris Doctor from Atlanta Law School. He also completed a Master of Arts degree from the University of Southern California and graduated from the Legislative Health Policy Certificate Program at the Andrew Young School of Policy Studies at Georgia State University.

Political Experience

Early Service

Mitchell began his public service career in 1995 when he was overwhelmingly elected to the Stone Mountain City Council. His colleagues unanimously selected him to serve as mayor pro tem . He also served as chairman of the Finance Committee before running for the Georgia General Assembly in 2002.

State Legislature

As the Democratic nominee for Georgia House District 88, Mitchell won his first election with over 70 percent of the vote. During his first term, he authored more legislation signed into law than any other freshman legislator, earning him the Georgia Legislative Black Caucus "Freshman Legislator of the Year" award. He authored landmark legislation allowing "advanced voting" in Georgia.

Mitchell currently serves on several powerful committees, including Appropriations, Banks and Banking, Health, Regulated Industries, and Urban Affairs. He serves as Chair of the Georgia House Democratic Caucus and as Secretary of the Legislative Black Caucus.

National Leadership

Mitchell serves as president of the National Black Caucus of State Legislators, an organization representing 740 African American state legislators nationwide. He was elected to this position by his peers.