[Congressional Record Volume 163, Number 206 (Monday, December 18, 2017)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E1721-E1722]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                      HONORING MAYOR WILLIAM BELL

                                 ______
                                 

                          HON. DAVID E. PRICE

                           of north carolina

                    in the house of representatives

                       Monday, December 18, 2017

  Mr. PRICE of North Carolina. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor the 
career of a devoted public servant, community leader, and friend, 
William V. ``Bill'' Bell, whose tenure as Mayor of Durham, North 
Carolina ended this month after 16 years in office.
  A native of Washington, D.C. who earned engineering degrees from 
Howard University and New York University, Bill began his career in the 
private sector, eventually retiring as a senior engineer at IBM in 
Research Triangle Park. He was first elected to the Durham County Board 
of Commissioners in 1972 and served until 1994 and again from 1996 to 
2000, including three terms as chairman from 1982 to 1994. He was 
elected Mayor of Durham in 2001 and re-elected six times, making him 
the longest-serving mayor in Durham's history.
  During his more than four decades in politics, Bill was a visionary 
force behind Durham's transformation from a declining tobacco town into 
a vibrant, modern paragon of the ``new South,'' bustling with commerce, 
cultural events and attractions, world-class hotels and restaurants, 
and a thriving entrepreneurial community. He played an instrumental 
role in the merger of the Durham County and Durham City school systems, 
the financing of major downtown amenities such as the Durham Bulls 
Athletic Park and Durham Performing Arts Center, and, more recently, 
the

[[Page E1722]]

planning for the Durham-Orange Light Rail Transit project.
  Even as he has worked to attract new ideas and new investment to 
Durham, Bill has worked tirelessly to ensure that all Durhamites would 
benefit from their community's growth. He continues to serve as the 
Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer of the UDI 
Community Development Corporation, a non-profit organization dedicated 
to promoting the education and economic welfare of low-income and 
underprivileged Durham residents.
  I have had the pleasure of knowing and working with Bill during his 
more than 40 years in North Carolina politics, and especially since 
Durham became part of the Fourth Congressional District in 1997. We 
worked together especially on appropriations projects, to improve the 
corridors to downtown, to remedy a ``food desert,'' and to develop 
affordable housing and livable neighborhoods. I and many others found 
Bill to be an ideal collaborator, able and willing to work 
cooperatively with all sorts of people, ready to embrace new ideas and 
approaches, loyal to Durham and determined to realize its potential.
  Even as he retires from public office, Bill will continue to serve 
the people of Durham through UDI Community Development Corporation and 
through his active involvement in other civic and charitable 
organizations. And his legacy will live on through the countless lives 
he has touched and the indelible impact he has made on the Bull City, 
which is today more prosperous, dynamic, and inclusive than ever 
before.
  Lisa and I, along with constituents in the Fourth District and 
colleagues in the North Carolina congressional delegation, want to 
thank Mayor Bell for his dedicated service and exceptional leadership 
and wish him and his family the very best as he begins the next chapter 
of his life.

                          ____________________