Lawrence, David L.

David L. Lawrence (1889–1966) was a master politician who, as chairman of the Allegheny County Democratic Committee, revitalized the party and took control of Pittsburgh away from the Republicans in the early 1930s, after decades of GOP dominance. He became mayor of Pittsburgh in 1945, serving an unprecedented four terms (1945–1957). The son of Irish immigrant parents from Belfast, he grew up in a working-class area of Pittsburgh's Golden Triangle, where he was exposed to political dialogue from an early age.

As an urban politician, he is best known for the political leadership he displayed in helping to launch Pittsburgh's famous so-called renaissance after World War II. In accomplishing this, the mayor worked in cooperation with Republican banker Richard King Mellon and a powerful civic group, the Allegheny Conference on Community Development (ACCD), which was composed of the city's most influential corporate CEOs. This alliance provides a prime example of “regime” politics—an alliance between a Republican business community and a dominant Democratic organization to bring about urban development. Among the major accomplishments of the alliance was the rebuilding of the downtown area, made possible through the use of the power of eminent domain by the newly created Urban Redevelopment Authority. This was the nation's first use of urban renewal powers for purposes of commercial revitalization. Also critical to the city's renewal was the accomplishment of two environmental goals: improving the city's air quality by reducing its smoke burden and creating the Allegheny County Sanitary Authority to begin treating the sewage of the city and neighboring towns.

In coordination with the ACCD, Lawrence also used his political power to orchestrate construction of new highways leading to the downtown and creation of a parking authority and of the Allegheny County Port Authority, which administered and improved the city and county's transit system. In 1958, after his tenure as mayor had ended, Lawrence was elected as Pennsylvania's first Roman Catholic governor. State law limited him to one term, but he had important accomplishments—the Fair Housing Law of 1961, legislation for air pollution control, and a major increase in library services. One of his last public acts was to serve as chair of President John F. Kennedy's Committee on Equal Opportunity in Housing. He died in 1966 while still active in political life.