[Congressional Record Volume 146, Number 88 (Tuesday, July 11, 2000)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1204]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]


[[Page E1204]]
         PUBLIC SERVICE OF MAYOR TOM JELEPIS OF BAY VILLAGE, OH

                                 ______
                                 

                        HON. DENNIS J. KUCINICH

                                of ohio

                    in the house of representatives

                         Tuesday, July 11, 2000

  Mr. KUCINICH. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor the public service 
of one of the best mayors from northeast Ohio's local communities. This 
year marks the last and final year of the term of Mayor Tom Jelepis of 
Bay Village, Ohio, a western suburb of Cleveland. Tom is choosing to 
pursue other challenges down the road, and this marks his final few 
months of public service as Bay Village's respected mayor.
  The entire Bay Village community and the adjoining West Shore 
communities owe Tom a debt of gratitude. Thanks to Tom's remarkable 
ability to forge a consensus in resolving one of the most daunting 
threats to the Bay Village and West Shore quality of life, represented 
by the agreement reached in June, 1998 to halt the proposed tripling of 
train traffic following the acquisition of Conrail by CSX and Norfolk 
Southern railroads. When the announcement was made in August, 1997 that 
train traffic would likely be more than tripled through the quiet, 
densely populated communities along Cleveland's West Shore communities, 
Tom Jelepis was one of the first public officials to begin to forge a 
large bipartisan coalition to find a reasonable alternative, an 
alternative which would stop the train traffic increase and would 
preserve Bay Village's and the West Shore's attractive quality of life.
  It was Tom's relentless perseverance, his ability to reach out to 
find common ground and consensus, and his enviable charm and wit that 
managed to bring people together to find a workable agreement that 
helped hundreds of thousands of local residents. Without Tom Jelepis' 
involvement, there would likely not have been a positive outcome, a 
result which halted the proposed tripling of train traffic and brought 
forward a plan beneficial to all parties and local communities. I had 
the pleasure to work side by side with Tom Jelepis throughout this 
challenging time, and I can say with confidence that he represents the 
very best in public service. His dedication, his sense of decency, and 
his sincerity is unmatched in public life.
  There are very few people in public life--no, in all aspects of 
life--with Tom Jelepis' unique combination of charm, wit, perseverance, 
and grace. He is my friend, and I am proud that he is my friend. He is 
a natural, as a businessman, as a family man, as a community leader, 
and as a mayor. The entire Bay Village community owes him a genuine 
``thank you'' for his many years of service.
  I hold a deep and sincere respect for Tom Jelepis and I wish him the 
very best of luck in all his future endeavors.

                          ____________________