[Congressional Record Volume 171, Number 194 (Tuesday, November 18, 2025)]
[House]
[Page H4765]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]





               HONORING FORMER ARLINGTON MAYOR ELZIE ODOM

  (Mr. VEASEY asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 
minute.)
  Mr. VEASEY. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor a legend in Arlington, 
Texas, who passed away, the former mayor of Arlington, Elzie Odom. He 
was 96 years old. Mayor Odom was a trailblazer in every sense of the 
word. Born in east Texas, he moved to Arlington and made his mark in 
the city very quickly.
  His journey was a testament to a determination of dignity and faith. 
He was an elected official in Arlington for 14 years and very active in 
the Mount Olive Baptist Church in Arlington, Texas, where he and his 
wife, Ruby, of 78 years spent most of their time worshipping.
  He was very instrumental in making sure that we kept General Motors 
in Arlington. We almost lost the plant back in the 1990s, and it was 
Elzie's leadership that helped us keep the plant. He kept the Texas 
Rangers baseball club there as well. He talked about bringing the 
Olympics to Arlington, and people didn't believe it would happen, but 
then it got serious consideration, and we were on the short list.
  This was an incredible man.
  His daughter, who is on the city council, Barbara Odom-Wesley, said 
that he taught others that ``service is the price you pay for the space 
you occupy.''
  I have to tell you there are so many things that I can say great 
about Mayor Odom, but this man absolutely loved his family. His 
grandkids called him Grandee, and he and his wife of 78 years had one 
of the most beautiful relationships in all of the Dallas-Fort Worth-
Arlington area.

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