2010 Election Guide U.S. House of Representatives District 2 – Sen. Al Lawson

Ricardo Lewis
Associate Editor

Florida Senator Al Lawson, who has more than 27 years of lawmaking experience under his belt, is planning to take that experience in local government to Washington, D.C. Lawson is involved in a highly competitive race for the U.S. House of Representatives, District 2 seat against incumbent Allen Boyd.

“There has not been an African-American from this area elected to Congress since reconstruction, I am looking forward to the opportunity to make a change and bring a different kind of role model to the kids in this area,” said Lawson. Lawson, who was born in Midway, Fla., served as a member of the Florida House of Representatives from 1982 until 2000, when he was elected to the Florida Senate. Lawson credits his love for the people of the North Florida area as the motivating force for wanting to further his political service.

“If you look at my last 28 years in government, I have always put the people first. I don’t see any reason to go to Congress and change that,” Lawson said. According to Lawson’s campaign manager John Reid, one of the major concerns is that when lawmakers get to Washington, they stop listening to the people they represent.

“I believe that Al Lawson will be a good representative for this area and its people because in his 28 years in the legislature, he has always been in touch with the people and has not forgotten the people who elected him,” Reid said. “I think one of his greatest assets is that he has been working so hard for so many years for the people of North Florida. The people of North Florida know Al Lawson.”

Reid noted that Lawson has run against a member of the Boyd family before. In 2000, Lawson won the campaign for the state Senate against Janegale Boyd, the sister-in- law of his current challenger Allen Boyd. Reid stated that in that race, even though the money was with the opposition, Lawson ran a very effective grassroots campaign that he won.

“I have never raised a tremendous amount of money in any of my campaigns,” Lawson said. “I am David going against Goliath; when I toss that rock, I can’t miss. It will be very exciting to see if big money can buy this race.” Lawson stated that he “will stand tall in Congress.”

He pointed toward several issues that he feels are major for the people of the North Florida area that he plans on tackling if he is elected, including providing more dollars for education, improving the National Healthcare Bill and economic development by creating real opportunities for jobs, and bringing “some real sense to environmental protection issues.”

“I have always been a good steward of taxpayer dollars. As member of Congress I will continue to make sure that taxpayer money is being used to help the people here in North Florida survive and to stimulate our economy,” Lawson said.