[Congressional Record Volume 148, Number 134 (Friday, October 11, 2002)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1852]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




  CENTRAL NEW JERSEY CELEBRATES THE LIFE AND CAREER OF FORMER SPEAKER 
                              JACK COLLINS

                                 ______
                                 

                           HON. RUSH D. HOLT

                             of new jersey

                    in the house of representatives

                       Thursday, October 10, 2002

  Mr. HOLT. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize and honor the 
commitment of former assemblyman and speaker Jack Collins to his 
constituents in the third district and to his extended responsibility 
to all New Jerseyians.
  I am proud to speak across partisan lines in praise of Jack Collins 
because, so often, he reached across party lines to fight for things 
important to all New Jerseyians. He is the embodiment of the citizen 
legislator: a working teacher and farmer who also represents the people 
of his district and his state.
  As a career educator, he rose above partisan politics to defend our 
teachers whether it was fighting for pension enhancements and health 
benefit improvements or blocking ill considered voucher proposals or 
tenure threats.
  Jack Collins also defended open space retention, farmland 
preservation, and aid to the developmentally disabled. These are all 
examples of the greatness of the heart of the man, and his dedication 
to issues concerning New Jersey.
  His career as speaker was marked not just by the legislation he 
championed, but the house he ran. As the longest serving speaker of the 
Assembly in New Jersey, Jack Collins was respected by politicians of 
all persuasions, for his directness, for his honesty and for his 
convictions.
  I am proud to rise today to wish Jack Collins well in his retirement. 
While he is no longer serving in the Assembly, I am sure that New 
Jersey has not seen the last of Jack Collins. He has built his life 
around service to others, whether in the classroom or on the floor of 
the Assembly, and I am sure that this instinct to serve will keep him 
active in the political life of New Jersey.

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