[Congressional Record Volume 141, Number 19 (Tuesday, January 31, 1995)]
[Senate]
[Pages S1801-S1802]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]


                      TRIBUTE TO FRANK E. RODGERS

  Mr. LAUTENBERG. Mr. President, I rise today to pay tribute to Mayor 
Frank E. Rodgers, who may well have set a record that will stand 
forever as the longest serving mayor in the history of the United 
States.
  Mayor Rodgers has 58 years of experience in public service. He served 
for 48 years as the mayor of Harrison, NJ. 
[[Page S1802]] That set the record for the longest successive tenure as 
a mayor in the history of the United States.
  That would be impressive enough by itself. But even while he was 
serving as mayor, Frank Rodgers also found the time to hold several 
other pubic service appointments. He served as secretary to the New 
Jersey Racing Commission between 1963 and 1964. He served as clerk to 
the Board of Chosen Freeholders of Hudson County from 1964 to 1982. And 
he served as a member of the New Jersey Highway Authority from 1976 to 
1978.
  In 1978, he was elected to the New Jersey State Senate where he 
served until 1983. And from 1984 to 1994, Mayor Rodgers served as a 
commissioner of the New Jersey Turnpike Authority.
  Mr. President, who could help but be in awe of this committed public 
servant? Who could help but wonder how he stayed so popular for so 
long?
  The answer is actually quite simple.
  Mayor Rodgers has devoted his life to the people of New Jersey. He 
has doggedly pursued our vital interests, although in the time he 
served as mayor, those interests have changed dramatically.
  When Mayor Rodgers was first elected in 1946, America had just won 
World War II. Mayor Rodgers was swept into office on a veteran's 
ticket, and he focused, in his first term, on post-war concerns.
  Over the years, Mayor Rodgers continued to respond to the needs of 
his constituents, whether they were young or old, veterans or new 
immigrants.
  More recently, he has proved adept at tackling more contemporary 
issues, including transportation, crime, and economic development.
  Mr. President, I believe that we can all learn a great lesson from 
Mayor Rodgers, a gracious statesman who faced Harrison voters 29 times 
without a defeat.
  Over the last five decades, Mayor Rodgers has developed a close 
working relationship with the people of Harrison. He did so by 
listening to their concerns, responding to their needs, and always 
sticking to his word.
  Those are characteristics that all of us, in the private and public 
sectors, could learn a lot from.
  I yield the floor.
  

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