Arrington Dixon

Arrington Dixon is an American politician who is a former Chair and Member of the Council of the District of Columbia of Washington, D.C.

Arrington Dixon
2nd Chair of the Council of the District of Columbia
In office
1979–1983
Preceded bySterling Tucker
Succeeded byDavid A. Clarke
Member of the Council of the District of Columbia
from Ward 4
In office
1975–1979
Preceded byPosition established
Succeeded byCharlene Drew Jarvis
Member of the Council of the District of Columbia
from the at-large district
In office
August 1997 – December 15, 1997
Preceded byLinda Cropp
Succeeded byDavid Catania
Personal details
Born
Arrington Dixon

Washington, D.C.
Political partyDemocratic
Spouse
​
​
(m. 1966; div. 1982)​
Children2
Alma materHoward University, George Washington Law School[1]
OccupationPolitician

Early years

Dixon was born in Anacostia in Washington, D.C., to James and Sally Dixon.[2]

Council of the District of Columbia

1975–1979

In November 1974, Dixon was chosen to represent Ward 4 when voters elected the first members of the Council of the District of Columbia, the legislature of the city's new home rule government.[3] The initial term for the Ward 4 seat, like those for half the council seats, was only 2 years, to provide for staggered council elections in later years,[4] but in 1976 Dixon was reelected to a full four-year term.[3]

1979–1983

In 1978, council chairman Sterling Tucker ran for mayor rather than seeking reelection.[5] Dixon, who was halfway through his Ward 4 term, decided to run for Chair of the Council and won. He served 4 years. In 1982, Dixon ran for re-election, but he was defeated in the Democratic primary by David A. Clarke.[5]

Dixon was later appointed by Mayor Marion Barry to serve as a public member of the National Capital Planning Commission.

1997

More than a decade later, Dixon returned to the council as an at-large member for a few months in 1997 when he was chosen in August by the District of Columbia Democratic State Committee to replace Linda Cropp, who had vacated her at-large seat to become chairman.[6] The appointment lasted only until a December special election, in which he was defeated by then-Republican David Catania.[7] Catania was sworn in on December 15, 1997.[8]

Personal life

In 1966, he married Sharon Pratt Kelly, and they had daughters Aimee and Drew. His daughters were born in 1968 and 1970.[9][10] The couple divorced in 1982 after sixteen years of marriage.[9]

References
  1. Trescott, Jacqueline. "Arrington Dixon: Seeking Systems To Run the System". The Washington Post. May 18, 1975. p. M1.
  2. Trescott, Jacqueline. "Arrington Dixon: Seeking Systems To Run the System". The Washington Post. May 18, 1975. p. M1.
  3. District of Columbia Board of Elections and Ethics. "Historical Elected Officials: Ward 4 Member of the Council of the District of Columbia". Archived from the original on 2008-07-16. Retrieved 2008-07-20.
  4. District of Columbia Board of Elections and Ethics. "Historical Elected Officials: Length of Initial Terms Following First Home Rule Election". Archived from the original on 2008-07-16. Retrieved 2008-07-21.
  5. District of Columbia Board of Elections and Ethics. "Historical Elected Officials: Chairman of the Council of the District of Columbia". Archived from the original on 2008-07-16. Retrieved 2008-07-20.
  6. "Arrington Dixon to Fill Vacancy Left by Cropp on D.C. Council". The Washington Post. 1997-08-16. p. D06. Retrieved 2008-07-22.
  7. Williams, Vanessa (1997-12-03). "Republican Wins Seat on D.C. Council; Catania Upsets Dixon Amid Low Turnout". The Washington Post. p. C01. Retrieved 2008-07-22.
  8. Williams, Vanessa (December 16, 1997). "New D.C. Council Member Knows Loss and Victory". The Washington Post. p. C1.
  9. "Sharon Pratt Dixon." Notable Black American Women, Book 1. Gale Research, 1992. Updated: 12/20/1992 Reproduced in Biography Resource Center. Farmington Hills, Michigan: Gale, 2009. http://galenet.galegroup.com/servlet/BioRC, Document Number: K1623000108. Fee, via Fairfax County Public Library 2009-04-10.
  10. Randolph, Laura B. (Feb 1992). "Her marriage … her mission and … her mid-life transformation - Sharon Pratt Kelley". Ebony magazine. Johnson Publishing Company. Retrieved 2009-04-09.
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