NORRISTOWN, Pa. (KYW Newsradio) — Montgomery County Commissioner Ken Lawrence is announcing he will not seek re-election for his seat in November, but he is planning to serve out the final year of his term.
Lawrence says several factors went into his decision, but at the top of the list: “I realized that I would actually have served seven years at the end of this term. And four more years was just going to be too much. So it was time to give someone else an opportunity to serve.”
Lawrence’s term runs through December. He’s announcing his decision now to give the Democratic Party time to find candidates to run.
“I never have considered myself a career politician. I saw I had an opportunity to serve in 2017. And I'm really grateful for that opportunity. But I actually think that people should serve and go back and do other things.”
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He says there is a benefit to not having to run for re-election in the coming year.
“I'm really excited about having the opportunity to focus 110% on governing, without all of the campaigning and politics that I would have to do this year.”
He says a big focus for his final year will be working to solve homelessness in the county, which has risen sharply over the past several years.
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Lawrence became Montgomery County’s first Black commissioner when he was appointed to the board in 2017 after then-Commissioner Josh Shapiro became Pennsylvania’s attorney general. Lawrence then won the seat for a four-year term in the 2019 election.
Fellow Democratic Commissioner Val Arkoosh is leaving the board to become the secretary of the Pennsylvania Department of Human Services, effective this week. The Montgomery County Court of Common Pleas will appoint her successor. They are accepting nominations through Monday, Jan. 23.