[Congressional Record Volume 145, Number 116 (Thursday, September 9, 1999)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1827]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                   HONORING THOMAS J. D'ALESANDRO III

                                 ______
                                 

                        HON. BENJAMIN L. CARDIN

                              of maryland

                    in the house of representatives

                      Wednesday, September 8, 1999

  Mr. CARDIN. Mr. Speaker, earlier this year, Loyola College in 
Baltimore took the occasion to honor one of its most distinguished 
sons, and one of Baltimore's most distinguished citizens. On May 18, 
Loyola presented its President's Medal for 1999 to Thomas J. 
D'Alesandro III.
  Baltimore has a rich and proud political history, full of leaders who 
have served our community with distinction. It is no small honor, then, 
to be designated as the ``First Political Family of Baltimore.'' Yet 
the D'Alesandro's would certainly be at the top of any list of 
nominees.
  Tommy D'Alesandro, Jr., the father of Tommy III served as Mayor of 
Baltimore, and later was elected to this House. His wife Nancy was a 
political force in her own right, and a major player in Democratic 
politics in the city.
  When it came time for the next generation to step up, they did so 
with energy and dedication. Tommy was elected to the City Council, 
served as its president, and then was elected Mayor of Baltimore. 
During his time of leadership in city government, Baltimore, like most 
major cities across the country, went through trying times as the civil 
rights movement expanded.
  The major civil rights legislation of the mid-60s, including the 
Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the Voting Rights Act of 1965 represented 
an earthquake in American politics, and nowhere was this more true than 
in our great urban centers. Municipal leaders across the country faced 
challenges that required courage and a firm adherence to principles of 
democratic government.
  As Mayor and as president of the city council, Tommy D'Alesandro 
showed himself to be up to the task. He shepherded Baltimore's own 
Civil Rights Act through the city council. In this action, as in so 
many of his decisions in public life, he was guided by the moral 
principles that were instilled in him during his years studying under 
the Jesuits at Loyola College.
  Mr. Speaker, any discussion of the political accomplishments of the 
D'Alesandro family would be sadly incomplete without an accounting of 
the family's spread across the continent. As a son of Baltimore, I am 
proud to note that the D'Alesandro family's talent for leadership, 
which we have long come to appreciate in our city, are now well known 
on the West Coast. I am speaking, of course, of our distinguished 
colleague from the San Francisco Bay area.
  Nancy Pelosi, my good friend, who represents California's Eighth 
Congressional District, is the sister of Tommy D'Alesandro. In her 
commitment to human rights and democracy around the world, and her 
fierce adherence to the values of working class Americans, she shows 
the same approach to politics that served her brother and her father so 
well in Baltimore. It is truly the case that the ``D'Alesandro Way''--
the ``Baltimore Way''--has undergone a successful transplant in 
northern California.
  In honoring Tommy D'Alesandro III with the President's Medal, Loyola 
College bestowed a great and well-deserved honor on a great son of a 
great Baltimore political family. The text that accompanied the 
presentation of the President's Medal cited Tommy D'Alesandro for ``his 
historic contributions to civic life in Baltimore, for the integrity 
and conviction of his principles, and for his life lived by the highest 
ideals of service to humankind.'' The words are true, and the honor is 
richly deserved. I am truly pleased to take this opportunity to join in 
offering my heart-felt congratulations to Tommy and to the entire 
D'Alesandro family.

                          ____________________