[Congressional Record Volume 140, Number 144 (Thursday, October 6, 1994)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]


[Congressional Record: October 6, 1994]
From the Congressional Record Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]

 
                       HONORING G. OLIVER KOPPELL

                                 ______


                          HON. ELIOT L. ENGEL

                              of new york

                    in the house of representatives

                       Wednesday, October 5, 1994

  Mr. ENGEL. Mr. Speaker, I would like to take this opportunity to 
recognize the accomplishments of my long-time colleague and dear 
friend, G. Oliver Koppell, the attorney general of the State of New 
York.
  Oliver Koppell has always set the standard to which an elected 
official should aspire. His intellect, energy, integrity, commitment 
and decency have always been exemplary.
  Mr. Koppell will be leaving elected office at the end of December 
after 24 years of public service. His career has been one filled with 
stellar achievement that is marked by an unparalleled dedication to his 
constituents. He was the author of New York's bottle bill that was 
years ahead of its time, and he is recognized as a leader on such 
issues as tenants' rights, Government ethics, minority opportunity, and 
domestic violence. I know of no other public official who can match the 
record of Oliver Koppell.
  I met Oliver more than 20 years ago when we first worked together to 
reform the Democratic Party in the Bronx and in New York State. Oliver 
was elected to the New York State Assembly in 1970 in a special 
election, under the banner of the ``Reform Party,'' defeating the 
entrenched political establishment. Seven years later, he helped me 
accomplish the same feat in a special election for my assembly seat.
  Oliver Koppell and I served together as colleagues in Albany for 12 
years, and I was fortunate to be able to work closely with him in both 
legislative and political affairs. He has been an ally and close 
personal friend, and we have always stood side-by-side during both good 
and bad times. We fought many political battles together in the Bronx, 
trying to reform the Democratic Party and supporting candidates whom we 
believed made a positive difference in people's lives.

  During his tenure in the State assembly, Oliver Koppell rose to chair 
the Corporations Committee, and later the very powerful Judiciary 
Committee. After 23 years in the assembly, his legislative colleagues 
unanimously chose him to be New York's attorney general, filling a 
vacancy for that position. This appointment says a great deal about the 
high regard in which Oliver Koppell is held by his colleagues in 
government. Those that know him best selected him for this very 
important position. I am so proud of the job Oliver Koppell has done as 
State attorney general.
  Wherever his career path takes him next, I know Oliver will never 
lose his feeling for public service that is so familiar to those of use 
who know him well. He will always be involved in the community and he 
will always speak out and act when he sees injustice.
  I am proud to call Oliver Koppell my friend, and consider it an honor 
to have fought by his side for so many years. I wish him all the best 
as he embarks on a new phase of his life. On behalf of the local 
community, I thank him for all his efforts on our behalf. I also thank 
his wife, Lorraine Coyle Koppell, and his children, Carla, Jonathan, 
and Jacqueline, for sharing Oliver with us.

                          ____________________