[Congressional Record Volume 147, Number 32 (Monday, March 12, 2001)]
[Senate]
[Page S2161]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                      IN MEMORY OF JOHN V. LINDSAY

 Mr. DODD. Mr. President, I rise today to pay tribute to the 
late John V. Lindsay, a talented public servant and a remarkable man.
  John Lindsay served in public office, first as a Member of the United 
States House of Representatives, then as Mayor of New York City, during 
the 1960's and early 1970's, a tumultuous period in our Nation's 
history. In ways both large and small, he demonstrated an unswerving 
commitment to reason, to compassion and to progress for all Americans.
  As a Republican, he recalled that he belonged to the party of 
Lincoln. While many in the 1960's and 1970's walked the streets of 
America's cities, he walked the streets of Harlem, jacket flung over 
his shoulder, to promote understanding and harmony. While many 
counseled caution and hesitation, he urged reconciliation among the 
races and attention to the needs of the less fortunate. And while many 
fled our cities for suburbia, he stayed and worked tirelessly to make 
urban America safer and more culturally enriching for residents and 
visitors alike.
  John Lindsay made the fate of America's cities an urgent national 
concern. He believed that the Nation's future rested on the health and 
vibrancy of its urban centers. He supported the arts, affordable 
housing, school reforms and other initiatives to provide a better 
quality of life for both residents of and visitors to America's cities. 
Today, the renaissance being experienced in cities like New York, 
Philadelphia, Chicago, and Los Angeles suggest that John Lindsay's 
hopeful vision for our cities has been realized at least in part.
  Upon graduating from Yale University in 1943, he joined the Naval 
Reserve as an ensign, serving as a gunnery officer during World War II. 
He participated in the invasion of Sicily and in the American landings 
in Hollandia, the Admiralty Islands and the Philippines. He won five 
battle stars and was a lieutenant when he was discharged in 1946.
  Twelve years later, in 1958, John ran for Congress in New York's 17th 
Congressional District, which extended from Harlem to Greenwich Village 
on the East Side. Though ethnically and culturally diverse, he 
represented all of the people of his district with understanding, 
empathy, and a keen sense of their varied needs. He would represent 
them for eight years, re-elected three times by successively larger 
margins. Thereafter, he would represent all of the people of New York 
as Mayor from 1966 to 1974.
  In 1972, John ran for President. As we all know, he did not prevail 
in that endeavor, at least at the ballot box. But in another sense, he 
succeeded in showing many in America what the people of New York City 
already knew; that he was a man of uncommon intelligence, charisma, and 
vision.
  On a personal note, let me say that I had the great good fortune to 
know John not only as an elected leader, but as a friend. I will always 
cherish his warmth, his wit, and the wisdom he brought to all he did 
and said.
  Our Nation has lost a public servant of rare gifts and broad vision. 
I extend my deepest sympathies to his wife, Mary Lindsay, to his 
children Katherine Lake, Margaret Picotte, Anne Lindsay, John Jr., 
their spouses and his five grandchildren.

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