Pennsylvania Politics
After an unprecedented four terms as mayor of Pittsburgh, Democrats drafted him to run for governor in 1958. He was initially reluctant. He cited his age (nearing 70) as a potential drawback. He eventually accepted his party’s nomination and narrowly defeated Reading businessman Arthur McGonigle to become Pennsylvania's 37th governor.
During his four-year term as governor, Lawrence passed anti-discrimination legislation, environmental protection laws, expanded Pennsylvania's library system, passed Pennsylvania's fair housing law, and advocated historic preservation. He also passed vigorous highway safety legislation, a move some attribute to the fact that two of his sons were killed in an automobile accident. His expansion of state bureaucracies came at the price of budget deficits and tax increases, a move that angered many fiscal conservatives.
In 1960, Lawrence was among a group of political leaders who created the Finnegan Foundation. The organization continues to name 3-6 Finnegan Fellows each year.
Read more about this topic: David L. Lawrence
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“The Republican Party does not perceive how many his failure will make to vote more correctly than they would have them. They have counted the votes of Pennsylvania & Co., but they have not correctly counted Captain Brown’s vote. He has taken the wind out of their sails,—the little wind they had,—and they may as well lie to and repair.”
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