Al Lawson set to go to work as Gadsden County's lobbyist in Tallahassee

Former Congressman Al Lawson sought a chair in the last row of the Gadsden County Commission chambers as residents and officials gathered to discuss the upcoming session of the Florida Legislature.

He didn’t remain seated for long. Lawson had represented the county for 34 years in the Legislature and U.S. Congress, so a crowd of people stopping in the aisle to exchange remarks formed and created a bottleneck until Rep. Gallop Franklin, D-Tallahassee, broke it up.

Franklin chaired the Gadsden Legislative Delegation meeting and invited Lawson to come sit at the dais with him and Sen. Corey Simon, R-Tallahassee, so he could gavel the meeting to order.

First order of business was the announcement that Lawson would be hired to lobby the Florida Legislature for the hard scrabble county of 43,000 residents.

“Y’all know that I’m a Midway boy. Grew up on those dirt roads of Midway until I came to this metropolis here in Quincy,” said Lawson drawing laughs from the crowd.

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The 74-year-old Lawson lost a reelection bid in a redrawn congressional district last November after serving six years in Washington. He had previously served in the Florida House and then Florida Senate for 28 years, championing legislation to protect the environment, agricultural, and state worker benefits.

“He has been such a long living, I will say it, legend for the area. So, I appreciate his wisdom. His wise words. His mentorship as we tried to move our community forward,” said Franklin, who won the House seat Lawson held 30 years ago.

Gadsden County Commissioner Brenda Holt had first suggested Lawson go to work for Gadsden after the November election loss to Congressman Neil Dunn, R-Panama City.

“He’s very good at what he does,” said Holt at the time.

He will make $60,000 per year as a contract employee, according to a Gadsden County spokesperson.

Introducing him Thursday night, she called on the audience to give him a round of applause for the $25 million in local infrastructure projects Lawson had secured for the five counties he represented in Washington.

“It makes sense for us to bring him home to work for us,” explained Holt, afterwards.

The hiring process has not been finalized yet. Lawson’s name does not appear on the state’s list of registered lobbyists, but it is clear he is at work for Gadsden.

From the dais, Lawson explained to the county and municipal officials they could help Franklin and Simon, and himself in the legislative effort by prioritizing projects and staying focused.

A failure in one legislative session isn’t the end of the game, noted Lawson.

“All it means is that the next time around, if you work together, they (projects) can move up to the top,” said Lawson. He explained the $25 million haul for local projects he secured in his final federal budget was the result of four years of work.

James Call is a member of the USA TODAY NETWORK-Florida Capital Bureau. He can be reached at jcall@tallahassee.com. Follow on him Twitter: @CallTallahasse

This article originally appeared on Tallahassee Democrat: Al Lawson returning to state Capitol as Gadsden County lobbyist