Marvin Arrington Sr. was elected to the Atlanta Board of Alderman in 1968 at the age of 28 and took office in 1969. The Board of Alderman was changed to the Atlanta City Council after Maynard Jackson became Mayor in 1972 election and took office in 1973.
Arrington continued to serve on the Atlanta City Council and was elected as President of the Atlanta City Council in 1980 and took office in 1981. He served as Atlanta City Council President for 16 years, from 1981 to 1997, when he made an unsuccessful bid to become Mayor of Atlanta. Arrington served on the council for 7 terms or 28 years.
In 2019, the @atlcouncil renamed the City Council chambers after Marrvin Stephens Arrington, Sr.
