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Council issues Labor Day proclamation and honors longtime Health Department director Stephen Williams on retirement
Summary
Houston City Council read proclamations recognizing Labor Day and marking the retirement of Stephen Williams after more than two decades leading the Houston Health Department. Speakers credited Williams for emergency responses, public-health accreditation and programs launched under his leadership.
At the start of the Aug. 27 evening meeting, the council presented a proclamation marking Labor Day and later read a second proclamation honoring Stephen Lawrence Williams on his retirement as director of the Houston Health Department.
Councilmember Kamen introduced a Labor Day proclamation recognizing Houston’s unions and apprenticeship programs and thanking organized labor for services during storms and other emergencies. Mayor John Whitmire joined city leaders in thanking union members who, council speakers said, support public services and local recovery efforts.
Hanny Khalil of the Gulf Coast AFL-CIO accepted the proclamation on behalf of roughly 60,000 local union members and urged continued local policy steps — such as living-wage and apprenticeship requirements — that the unions say lift workers and their families.
Later in the meeting Councilmember Castillo read a proclamation honoring Stephen Lawrence Williams for more than 45 years in public health, including more than 21 years as director of the Houston Health Department. The proclamation summarized Williams’ tenure: overseeing about 1,300 employees, managing a $180,000,000 budget, leading accreditation by the Public Health Accreditation Board in 2014 and 2021, and directing major emergency responses and pandemic work.
Williams thanked his staff and said he came to Houston expecting to stay only a few years but ended up serving for more than two decades. He mentioned specific programs cited in the proclamation, including the Sobering Center, Nurse Family Partnership, See to Succeed, Project Saving Smiles and the department’s wastewater surveillance program during COVID-19. The proclamation also noted the Houston Health Foundation and other financial strategies developed during his tenure.
The mayor proclaimed Aug. 28, 2025, as Stephen Lawrence Williams Day across Houston and the council expressed gratitude for Williams’ leadership in responses to hurricanes, public-health emergencies and staff development.
Councilmembers used the occasion to emphasize the role of the health department in citywide responses and to note continuing partnerships — several members said they would remain in touch with Williams as he continues public-health work outside the director role. A retirement celebration was scheduled for Aug. 28, 2025, at Cherry Flores Garden Pavilion, per the proclamation.
