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On Friday, Mayor Jon Mitchell joined past and present City officials gathered at City Hall to honor the life and service of longtime public servant and former City Solicitor Arthur J. Caron Jr., who passed away in January 2018 at the age of 80.
Mr. Caron served under nine mayors during five decades of service to the City of New Bedford: Edward F. Harrington, George Rogers, John A. Markey, Brian Lawler, John Bullard, Rosemary Tierney, Frederick M. Kalisz Jr., Scott W. Lang, and Jon Mitchell.
Former Mayors Markey, Bullard, Tierney, Kalisz, and Lang joined Mayor Mitchell, former and current City Councillors and department heads, and the family and friends of Mr. Caron for the unveiling ceremony.
A New Bedford native, Mr. Caron was a U.S. Army veteran, serving as a captain in the Judge Advocate General’s Corps with the First Cavalry Division in Korea, and later in the Office of the Secretary of Defense during the tenures of Secretaries Robert McNamara and Clark Clifford.
He was a graduate of New Bedford High School and Northeastern University, and received his J.D. from Boston College Law School and a master’s in labor law from New York University.
Mr. Caron returned to New Bedford in 1968 and joined the law firm of Downey and Jacobs, and was appointed Assistant City Solicitor by Mayor Harrington.
He held the positions of Assistant City Solicitor, City Solicitor, Corporation Counsel, and Special Labor Counsel, as well as serving as the City’s first Personnel Director. He served New Bedford for a half century, and was a trusted mentor to multiple generations of attorneys in the Solicitor’s Office, helping the office up until his death. Mr. Caron’s contributions include playing an instrumental role in labor relations and addressing environmental issues during his years of service.
His portrait, painted by New Bedford artist Deborah Macy, was unveiled in the Judge Rosalind Poll Brooker Meeting Room, and will be displayed in the City Solicitor’s Office Law Library, which has been named in Mr. Caron’s honor.
