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A CEREMONIAL RESOLUTION
19-319
IN THE COUNCIL OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA
October 16, 2012
To recognize and honor Arthuro V. Lawson, on the occasion of his retirement, for his years of outstanding public service to the District of Columbia.
WHEREAS, Arthuro (“Art”) V. Lawson was born in Washington, D.C., at Columbia Hospital for Women on February 24, 1953, and resides in Ward 4;
WHEREAS, Art Lawson is the loving husband of Jacqueline L. Lawson, and the devoted father of adult children Justin Dickerson and Shelby Lawson;
WHEREAS, Art Lawson received his earlier education in the Washington Parochial School system, having attended St. Augustine and Nativity schools, DeMatha Catholic High School in Hyattsville, Maryland, and graduating from Northwestern Senior High School, also in Hyattsville, Maryland.
WHEREAS, after completing his Bachelor of Science degree at Morgan State College in Baltimore, Maryland, in urban studies with a concentration in urban planning, he returned to the District of Columbia, where he earned a Master of Science degree from Federal City College;
WHEREAS, Art Lawson is a member of Iota Phi Theta Fraternity, Incorporated from which, in 1974, he received the National Grand Council's Outstanding Undergraduate of the Year Award and in 1977 he received Outstanding Community Service Award from the Federal City College;
WHEREAS, Art Lawson is a member of Metropolitan Baptist Church and lends his baritone voice to the senior and men's choirs;
WHEREAS, Art Lawson is a staunch supporter of his alma mater, Morgan State University, and serves as president of the Washington, DC Metropolitan Area Chapter of the Alumni Association;
WHEREAS, a sports fan, art enthusiast and music lover, Art Lawson has a keen eye and ear for these talents and gifts;
WHEREAS, Art Lawson began his service to the District of Columbia and its residents in the Department of Recreation in 1974, where he distinguished himself in the senior citizens program as a center director;
WHEREAS, Art Lawson developed new and innovative programs and worked with Federal City College and the Department of Human Resources to develop a gerontology training curriculum for the Department of Recreation's senior citizen program employees;
WHEREAS, in 1978, Art Lawson moved to the Office on Aging, where he served as the special initiatives coordinator, helped create the Senior Services Network, Washington Center for Aging Services and did all of the staff work to fund and create the Washington Elderly and Handicapped Transportation Services;
WHEREAS, he worked with several private nonprofit organizations to create hundreds of elderly and handicapped housing units, and also served on the Board of Directors of Legal Counsel for the Elderly and the National Center for Black Aged -- NCBA Estates;
WHEREAS, in 1982, Art Lawson transferred to the Department of Public Works (“DPW”), where he rose from bus and rail planner in the Office of Mass Transit to the interim director of the agency during the first 8 months of the Anthony Williams administration;
WHEREAS, from 1989 through 1994, Art Lawson served as the Administrator of the Office of Mass Transit, where he led the District's staff effort to plan and finance the last 13.5 miles of the regionally adopted Metrorail system;
WHEREAS, Mr. Lawson's staff efforts led to the construction scenario that reduced the private residential takings from almost 240 down to zero and tied the zero takings to the District's approval of the fifth capital contributions agreement and the "Fast Track" Metrorail construction agreement;
WHEREAS, Art Lawson served as the Administrator of the Office of Policy and Planning from 1995 through 1996, where he led DPW staff efforts to construct the infrastructure to support the construction of the MCI arena, now known as Verizon Center;
WHEREAS, Mr. Lawson identified the scenario to fund the renovation of the Metrorail Gallery Place entrance under the arena and the scenario to mitigate the closing of a portion of the L'Enfant Street by opening up another portion of the same L'Enfant Street;
WHEREAS, from 1997 through 1999, Art Lawson served as the Department of Public Works Deputy Director for Operations, where he worked to implement the provisions of the District of Columbia Highway Relief Act of 1996, which jump-started the District's Federal Aid Transportation program that had been discontinued due to the District's financial crisis;
WHEREAS, Art Lawson, served as the Interim Director of the Department of Public Works from December of 1999 through July of 2000, where he successfully implemented Mayor Anthony Williams' public infrastructure short-term action plan to make visible and sustained improvements in the city's infrastructure;
WHEREAS, Art Lawson retired in September 2000 but returned to public service in 2001 with the WMATA Office of Business Planning and Development, where he was the Project Director for the Regional Bus Study—the first comprehensive study and plan to address bus needs across the WMATA territory;
WHEREAS, since 2004, Art Lawson has served in the WMATA Office of Government Relations, a role in which he successfully orchestrated the political and regulatory waters to make the Shepherd Parkway bus garage a reality, and worked with the Council to pass legislation that enhanced the penalty for assaults on a bus or train operator;
WHEREAS, after almost 4 decades, on September 28, 2012, Art Lawson retired from his outstanding career serving the public; and
WHEREAS, although Art Lawson plans to spend his retirement pursuing his many interests and hobbies, he is looking forward with great enthusiasm to being a grandfather for the first, and second times.
RESOLVED, BY THE COUNCIL OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA, That this resolution may be cited as the “Arthuro V. Lawson Recognition Resolution of 2012”.
Sec. 2. The Council of the District of Columbia commends and recognizes Arthuro V. Lawson for his years of exemplarily public service and outstanding commitment to the District of Columbia and the greater Washington, D.C. community.
Sec. 3. This resolution shall take effect immediately upon the first date of publication in the District of Columbia Register.
