In 2007, the Montana state legislature adjourned without passing a state budget, deadlocked over how to spend a $1.4 billion surplus. A budget was passed only after a three-day
special session. Angered by the legislature's inaction, Williams decided to run for office. She ran in House district 65, a heavily
Democratic and Williams faced Bethan Letiecq in the Democratic
primary election. Letiecq emphasized her experience lobbying the state legislature on grandparental rights and immigration, as well as her work for the
General Accountability Office, a federal agency. She proposed a
windfall profits tax on oil companies to fund improvements in education. Williams emphasized her work for the state legislature and state agencies, arguing she was better qualified to achieve compromise when contentious issues arose. She said she was not a single-issue candidate, pointing to her work with the
Montana League of Women Voters on education and healthcare. She said her work in the legislature would focus on improving Montana's economy by promoting
sustainable industries and on developing a state energy policy. Williams won the primary election by a vote of 255 to 164 (60.8 to 39.2 percent). proposed a 3-to-5 percent across-the-board cut to the state budget, elimination of the business equipment tax, and a limit on the number bills that could be introduced in each 90-day legislative session. He portrayed Williams as in favor of more bureaucracy and higher taxes. Williams was
endorsed by Wiseman, and focused her campaign on the economy, education, and the environment. She continued to emphasize her experience working for the state legislature and state agencies. She sponsored a successful bill (H.B. 615) which required
health insurance companies to provide routine cancer treatment to patients in
clinical trials. Williams's first term in office occurred in the wake of the
Great Recession of 2008–2010. She says she gained a much deeper appreciation for the importance of a diversified economy and
workforce development during this period.
2012 election Williams was re-elected to the Montana Legislature in 2012.
2013 session of the Montana House of Representatives Williams was assigned to the House agriculture, natural resources, rules, and taxation committees. She served as the Minority Vice Chair of the Agriculture Committee. an agreement between the U.S. federal government, the state of Montana, and the
Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes that defines water rights for the tribes as well as affects water use across western Montana. The tribes had threatened to sue to enforce their rights in the
Montana Water Court, litigation that might have taken years to resolve and cost the state hundreds of millions of dollars. Negotiations on the compact had taken more than a decade, and legislative approval proved highly contentious. Williams was appointed to and served as Minority Vice Chair of the Montana Legislature's Water Policy Committee, which met during the interim between the 2013 and 2015 legislative sessions to collect information, analyze, and report to the legislature concerning water policy issues in the state.
2014 election Williams was re-elected to the Montana Legislature in 2014. House district 61 shifted to a large, less densely populated area north and east of the old House district 65. The local newspaper described Williams' new district as leaning Democratic. She served as the Minority Vice Chair of the Taxation Committee. Williams also introduced and won passage of HB 258, the Montana Benefit Corporation Act. The legislation authorized the establishment of for-profit
public benefit corporations in the state. Williams again agreed to shepherd the Compact and Ordinance for the Flathead Reservation Water Rights Settlement during the 2015 legislative session. and did not achieve property tax fairness for those on fixed incomes. ==Western Landowners Alliance==