David Earl Williams III was born on January 8th, 1984, in Evanston, Illinois. However, he grew up on Chicago’s North Side neighborhood of Rogers Park and later Uptown, where he resided with his mother and two sisters. Additionally, he has an older brother. Notably, he is related to former Democratic Oklahoma State Senator Eugene E. “Gene” Stipe. David is of mixed ancestry, including Black, Irish, Native American, French, German, British, Ashkenazi Jewish, and Southeast Asian heritage.
He attended Joseph Brennemann Elementary School from 1990 to 1995, Louis B. Nettlehorst Elementary School from 1996 to 1998, and Nicholas Senn High School from 1999 to 2002. During the 2000-2001 school year, David was a member of Senn High School’s Academic Decathlon team, contributing to their historic advancement to the regional competition for the first time. David graduated from Senn High School in 2002 with Honor Roll distinction.
Immediately after graduating, David joined the U.S. Navy. He served as a Deck Seaman for the first two years during Operation Iraqi Freedom, and then as a Logistics Specialist, managing over $2 billion worth of aviation equipment and supervising more than 25 personnel for the remainder of his service. He was stationed onboard the U.S.S. Cowpens (CG-63) in Yokosuka, Kanagawa, Japan, from 2002 to 2006. During his time in the U.S. Armed Forces, he traveled extensively throughout Asia, Australia, and the Middle East. David was decorated eight times for his service before receiving an Honorable Discharge in mid-2006.
Later in 2006, he began his studies abroad, eventually graduating from Lethbridge College in Lethbridge, Alberta, Canada, with courses in General Studies and Criminal Justice. During the 2008 U.S. Presidential election, he supported and voted for Barack Obama via absentee ballot.
In 2010, David returned to the United States and took up residence in his birthplace of Evanston, Illinois. Shortly thereafter, he became active in the Chicago chapter of WeAreChange (2011-2014), a nationwide political activism group. During his time with WeAreChange, he protested against corporatism and participated in several anti-war demonstrations opposing U.S. involvement in Iraq and Afghanistan.
In 2014, David ran for the U.S. House of Representatives in Illinois’ 9th District as a Republican. He lost the primary by 1,427 votes on March 18, 2014. In the summer of 2018, he announced his candidacy for Alderman in Chicago’s 48th Ward as an Independent. During the 2019 Chicago Municipal election, he received 16.25% of the vote (2,415 votes). In late summer of 2022, he announced his candidacy for the 24th police district council in Chicago as a Democrat, placing 5th out of 7 candidates with 13% of the vote (7,074 votes).
Many who are close to David see him as a “Renaissance man.” In the past, David worked as a male model and promoter for Urban Offering clothing and Pink Avenue Models. He also appeared as an extra in the music video “Desert Spring Rose: Film Noir Vignette,” directed by Scott Feigen.
In addition to his “day job” as a medical logistics specialist, David has volunteered in disaster relief efforts with Convoy of Hope, assisted in crisis intervention initiatives with the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI), and worked with the pro-privacy activist organization Restore the Fourth. He is also an animal rights activist with the Chicago Alliance for Animals, advocating for the replacement of horse carriages with pedicabs. Through his group, the Chicago Missing Persons Guild, he has collaborated closely with the CPD Youth Investigation Division to implement new methods for locating missing loved ones quickly and efficiently.
Outside of his political endeavors, he has volunteered for various campaigns, participating in house-to-house canvassing and phone banking. These campaigns include Jesus “Chuy” Garcia’s 2015 Chicago Mayoral campaign, Lori Lightfoot’s 2019 Chicago Mayoral campaign, Andre Vasquez’s Aldermanic campaign for the 40th Ward, the Illinois for Bernie 2020 Presidential campaign (supporting Independent Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders), the Joe Biden/Kamala Harris 2020 Presidential campaign, Hoan Huynh’s 2022 State Representative campaign in Illinois’ 13th District, Joe Dunne’s 2023 Aldermanic campaign for the 48th Ward, and Kamala Harris/Tim Walz 2024 Presidential campaign.
He is a Prince Hall Freemason, formerly affiliated with Evans Lodge 524 (2013-2016), and currently with St. James Alpha 1 Lodge. He previously provided veteran service outreach with the American Legion of Morton Grove Post 134 (2014-2017) and the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks Lodge 1526 (2016-2018). Additionally, he served as Co-Chairman for the Chicago Chapter of Unite America from 2019 to 2022.
He is a nondenominational Christian who often attends Catholic vigil and mass. He is also the author of the LitRPG book series titled “VALOR TALE.” His hobbies and interests include amateur voice-overs (particularly for YouTube user Yeti112’s Resident Evil and Metal Gear Solid parody series), working out, long-distance walking (his longest walk being 24.3 miles in 7.5 hours, as of July 26, 2023), swing dancing, video game music, cats and dogs, red wine, vodka, and M.U.G.E.N.
