William Abernathy

  

William Abernathy
Abernathy in 2021
Minority Leader of the United Commonwealth House of Representatives
Incumbent
Assumed office January 2, 2017
Preceded by	Cory Bertron
Member of the United Commonwealth House of Representatives for Hispaniola's 13th district
Incumbent
Assumed office January 3, 2009
Preceded by	Marcus White-Greene
Chairman of the Civic Democratic Party
Incumbent
Assumed office January 1, 2021
Preceded by	Philip Brownlee
Personal details
Born	(1979-10-09) October 9, 1979 Whiteport, Hispaniola, Antilles
Nationality	Antillean
Political party	Civic Democratic
Spouse(s)	Annabelle Wynne (m. 2004)
Children	4
Alma mater	University of Davis
Religion	Presbyterian

William John Abernathy (born on October 9, 1979) is a Antillean politician and lawyer serving as the Minority Leader of the United Commonwealth House of Representatives since 2017. As the Minority Leader, Abernathy also serves as a member of the United Commonwealth House of Representatives, representing urban portions of Davis City and is the third and current chairman of the Civic Democratic Party.

Abernathy was born in Whiteport, Hispaniola to a upper middle class family. He attended the University of Davis, receiving a degree in law. Following his graduation from university, Abernathy began a legal career, becoming a defense attorney. Abernathy gained local attention for taking on a number of high profile cases, usually revolving around a political or societal issue. His fame as a local lawyer prompted his political career, with Abernathy entering politics in 2008, running for and being elected to a seat in the United Commonwealth House of Representatives as a member of the liberal Civic Democratic Party. As a member of the House of Representatives, Abernathy has supported liberal and centrist legislation. In 2017, he was elected to be the party's leader in the House of Representatives following the resignation of Cory Bertron. He was credited with the party's legislative successes in the 2018 elections

In early 2019, after months of speculation, Abernathy announced his candidacy for the Civic Democratic nomination for president for the upcoming presidential election. As the leading moderate candidate, Abernathy competed primarily against progressive Mayor of Montgomery Allen Paul. After securing the nomination, Abernathy selected Paul as his running mate in order to unite the moderate and progressive factions of the party. Abernathy ran on a dual mandate, running for both president and re-election to his seat in the House. Although portraying himself as a moderate, Abernathy took a number of progressive positions during the campaign, including supporting the legalization of labor unions and same-sex marriage in the Antilles, decreasing of the power of the federal government, and adding a constitutional amendment which would make most voting restrictions currently employed unconstitutional. Abernathy and Paul went onto lose the election to Secretary of the Army Arian Lawrence and Representative Mitchell Vargas, though received the highest voting percentage for non-Federalist presidential candidates in Antillean history, securing TBD% of the vote.

Remaining popular among his fellow Civic Democrats, and for leading the party to a unprecedented level of success on the presidential-level, Abernathy was selected by the Civic Democratic National Committee to succeed outgoing chairman Philip Brownlee. Abernathy become chairman of the Civic Democratic Party on January 1, 2021. As party chairman, Abernathy has pushed for the party promote both moderate and progressive policies.

Politically, Abernathy identifies as a social liberal and a soft progressive. On social issues, Abernathy supports the legalization of labor unions and same-sex marriage, and was the first presidential candidate to openly support both positions. Abernathy also supports the partial legalization of marijuana. Identifying as a "progressive Christian", Abernathy opposes the heavy restrictions placed on abortion, supporting fully legalizing the practice. Abernathy also supports making voting more accessible through the repeal of most voting restrictions, and supports the ascension of Hispaniola, Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands as fully-fledged states, opposing the provisional status of the territories. On economic issues, Abernathy is an opponent of a federal single-payer healthcare system, citing his confidence in the private healthcare sector in the Antilles. However, Abernathy supports raising taxes on large-scale businesses in the Antilles, specifically on the largely tax-free gambling industry. On foreign policy, Abernathy is a staunch American unionist, supporting the ascension of the Antilles as a member state. He also considers himself a "Antillean nationalist", supporting the independence of the Antilles as a separate nation rather than continuing as the United Commonwealth of America.

Early life and education

William John Abernathy was born on October 9, 1979 to Clarence and Catherine Abernathy in Whiteport. His father worked in city government as an economic advisor to Mayor George Puntz while his mother was a political science and mathematics teacher at the University of Whiteport. Abernathy is the descendant of Scotish-Irish settlers who arrived in the Americas and settled in the Pennsylvania region. Abernathy's grandfather, Morgan Abernathy, was one of the thousands of civilians that fled alongside the Federalist Army during the Great Retreat. Abernathy was born the second son and child of Clarence and Catherine, having an older brother and two younger sisters. The Abernathy family lived in urban Whiteport, living in a three story apartment building.

While growing up, Abernathy took inspiration from his brother, who was five years older than him. According to Abernathy in the 2021 interview, he had a close relationship with his brother Marcus, and cited him as his inspiration for getting involved in politics. At the age of six, Abernathy began attending Whiteport Municipal Elementary School. In 1990, Abernathy began attending Whiteport Middle School, and three years later promoted to John Sherman High School in 1994. He played on the school's football team up until his sophomore year, playing as a linebacker. During his junior year, Abernathy became interested in law, joining his school's mock trial club. He also began developing an interest in politics, following the footsteps of his parents and joining the Civic National Party. He graduated from John Sherman High School in 1998.

In order to receive suffrage, Abernathy enlisted in the United Commonwealth Army, receiving basic training at Fort Washington in near Whiteport and later being stationed to Fort Jefferson in Davis. After military service, Abernathy began attending the University of Davis in 1998, pursuing a degree in law. He graduated in 2002 and was hired by Williams and Garvey Legal, a prominent defense firm in Davis.

Political career

Chair of the Civic Democratic Party

Main article: 2020 Civic Democratic National Committee chairmanship election

2020 presidential campaign

Main article: William Abernathy 2020 presidential campaign

Primary elections

Main article: 2020 Civic Democratic Party presidential primaries

General election

Logo for Abernathy's presidential campaign

Political positions

Main article: Political positions of William Abernathy

William Abernathy identifies as a liberal and a social progressive, being one of the leading figures in the modern Antillean liberal movement. Abernathy is a supporter of full social liberalization, backing the legalization of abortion in the Antilles along with legalizing same-sex marriage and civil unions in the country along with supporting full anti-discrimination legal protections for all LGBT Antilleans. Abernathy is an opponent of most restrictions on voting, and during his presidential campaign called out voting restrictions as "inherently discriminatory".

Abernathy supports the legalization of labor unions in the Antilles and supports empowering all labor associations such as permitting them to organize strikes, protests, and take an active role in organized labor, calling for the "complete empowerment" of the latter. Economically, he supports an increase in the minimum wage along with an increase in the corporate tax rate and taxes on all forms of big business and the largely tax exempt gambling industry as well. He supports making healthcare more affordable by backing a price cap on healthcare costs and a national insurance program, but opposes a single-payer system citing personal confidence in the private system, but is open to a public option. On foreign policy, Abernathy backs Antillean ascension and membership in the Northern Treaty Organization, the League of Nations, and the Conference of American States, being an ardent American unionist. Abernathy is a vocal supporter of the Antillean independence movement, backing renaming the country, renouncing all claims to the American mainland, and fully integrating all four provisional commonwealths as states. He also backs the restructuring of the United Commonwealth Senate including abolishing the position of Senator-in-Absentia, organizing the commonwealths into Senate districts, and having all senators be directly elected in democratic elections as seen in the House of Representatives.

Personal life

While attending the University of Davis, Abernathy met and befriend Annabelle Wynne. The two began dating shortly after graduating from university and married in 2004. The couple had their first child, Christopher in 2007, their second child Elizabeth in 2010, and had a set of twins, Mary and Benjamin, in 2014. Abernathy identifies as a Pennsylvanian-Antillean, with his grandfather and family fleeing the state during the Continental Revolutionary War. Since 2017, Annabelle has amassed a large social media following, where she documents the lives of her family and promotes various social causes. According to Social Climber, Annabelle is the fifth most-followed Antillean on social media.

Abernathy is a fan of both baseball and American football, supporting the Davis Red Sox and the Columbia City Cardinals. Like many Antilleans, Abernathy supports the country's ascension into the Conference Baseball Association and the Anglo-American Football League. Since childhood, Abernathy has played a number of instruments, including the guitar. In terms of religion, Abernathy identifies as a Presbyterian and has attended a number of services at the United Presbyterian Church in Davis.

Electoral history

Main article: Electoral history of William Abernathy

See also

• Liberalism in the Antilles
• Electoral reform in the Antilles
• 2020 Antillean presidential election