[Congressional Record Volume 146, Number 100 (Thursday, July 27, 2000)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1375]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




              RICHARD H. BLADES, 1930-1999: PUBLIC SERVANT

                                 ______
                                 

                           HON. STEPHEN HORN

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                        Thursday, July 27, 2000

  Mr. HORN. Mr. Speaker, late last year, we lost a remarkable man--a 
man who made significant contributions to every field he touched: the 
non-profit sector, business, politics, and government, including the 
House of Representatives.
  Richard H. Blades was an expert in public relations who never sought 
publicity for himself, a political strategist of the first rank who 
never held office, a man of comfortable means who never forgot those 
less fortunate, and a man with a great sense of humor who never failed 
to confront the serious issues of his community, state, and nation.
  Dick Blades was born in Huntington Park, California, and established 
a reputation in high school, and at the University of Southern 
California, as a skilled debater. After graduating from U.S.C. in 1952, 
Dick began work as a public relations consultant and political 
strategist. He also established an extraordinary partnership with 
Alphonzo Bell.
  In the 1950s, Al Bell was a major figure in the California Republican 
Party serving as Chairman of the State Republican Central Committee, 
and later as Chair of the Los Angeles County Republican Central 
Committee. Dick worked with Al Bell on some of the legendary internal 
battles of the Republican party in the 1950's--featuring such larger-
than-life figures as Governor Goodwin Knight, Senator William F. 
Knowland, the Republican Leader of the United States Senate, Senator 
Thomas H. Kuchel, the Republican Whip, and Vice President Richard M. 
Nixon.
  Alphonzo Bell was then elected to the House of Representatives in 
1960 from Los Angeles and would serve for sixteen very distinguished 
years. During those years, Dick assisted Congressman Bell in a variety 
of capacities, including campaign manager, field representative, and 
administrative assistant. Dick also found time to consult on Nelson 
Rockefeller's 1964 campaign for President, and Charles Percy's 
victorious 1966 campaign for United States Senate in Illinois.
  The partnership of Congressman Bell and Dick Blades enjoyed great 
success and they had many significant legislative accomplishments in 
the 1960's and 1970's, especially in the areas of education, space and 
technology, and the environment. Their proudest achievements included 
initiating the preservation of the Santa Monica Mountains and the 
Channel Islands, and establishing the San Onofre area as a public 
beach.
  Dick had great respect for the House of Representatives as an 
institution where diverse people and interests would come together to 
resolve conflicts. He is an example of what makes this institution 
work--the dedicated staff member who serves his Representative, 
Congress, and the country, with honor, wisdom, and loyalty. Dick also 
respected the electoral process and was known for his keen 
understanding of the issues. The campaigns he managed spoke honestly 
and intelligently to the people, and Dick treated the voters as 
independent citizens capable of exercising good judgment, not as a 
pliable mass to be manipulated with modern media techniques.
  After Congressman Bell's retirement, Dick provided consulting 
services to Bell Petroleum and embarked on another extraordinary career 
as a volunteer board member in the non-profit world. All of the skills 
Dick displayed in the political world were now being used to help 
charities--many of them very small or new organizations doing 
innovative work.
  Dick's qualities of judgment, wisdom, and ability to get things done, 
along with his skills in finance, public relations, policy, and 
personnel, made him a revered and sought after board member in a 
variety of worthy causes, especially in the areas of health care, 
disability rights, and literacy. Dick was a life-long asthmatic who 
ultimately succumbed to respiratory failure. He served as President of 
the Asthma and Allergy Foundation of Southern California and helped 
begin the Breathmobile project which brings critical medical services 
to inner city children. The Breathmobile program has been credited with 
saving hundreds, if not thousands, of lives, and was later expanded to 
the entire country.
  Dick was also a valued board member and officer of Centro Latino 
Educacion Popular, which trains Spanish-speaking adults to read and 
write, the Western Law Center for Disability Rights at Loyola Law 
School, and the Rose Foundation for Communities and the Environment.
  Although Dick was unquestionably a man of the sensible center, he had 
a diverse collection of friends who ranged from the far right to the 
far left. He helped to moderate them, but he, in turn, learned from 
them and was always open to good ideas from any source.
  At Dick's memorial service, there was an astonishing array of friends 
from all walks of life--business, charities, education, politics, and 
entertainment--and from all stations in life, young and old, the 
wealthy and those of modest means, celebrities and those whose names 
have never been in the papers.
  What they had in common, along with Dick's friends who could not 
attend, was deep affection and respect for an extraordinary man who had 
no children but who touched the lives of many, and who leaves a legacy 
of achievement and generosity of spirit that is a model for us all.

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