[Congressional Record Volume 149, Number 35 (Wednesday, March 5, 2003)]
[Senate]
[Page S3160]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                  TRIBUTE TO STATE SENATOR ALVIN PENN

 Mr. LIEBERMAN. Mr. President, I rise to pay tribute to the 
life and career of Connecticut State Senator Alvin Penn, who died an 
untimely death on Friday, February 14, at the age of 54.
  Alvin was a passionate and principled fighter who sought to give 
people of all races and backgrounds the equal opportunity that is every 
American's birthright. Through difficult times, he never wavered in 
serving his beloved city of Bridgeport. And those of us who were 
blessed to know him will always remember him as a larger than life 
human being with a generous spirit and sharp and unsinkable sense of 
humor.
  As chairman of the State senate's public safety committee, Senator 
Penn banned the insidious practice of racial profiling and improved the 
State's witness protection program. Thanks to Senator Penn's work on 
this committee and others, Bridgeport has better schools, safer 
streets, and more prosperous neighborhoods than it did a decade ago.
  The city of Bridgeport and the state of Connecticut, of course, still 
have their share of troubles--but Alvin never gave up, never let the 
steepness of the hill stop him from trying to climb. He understood that 
to get to the mountaintop, you must keep going up.
  That is what he did. State Senator Penn did not take orders from 
special interests or party bosses. He listened to, and did what was 
right for, the people he served. Eight years ago, Alvin met with Gov. 
John Rowland, and told the Governor, ``You're a Republican from 
Waterbury and I'm a Democrat from Bridgeport. We understand the issues 
of our urban communities.'' He pledged to work together--and his word 
was good.
  The city of Bridgeport will always hold State Senator Penn close to 
its heart. He is a part of its history, its present, and will be a part 
of its future. There is not yet an Alvin Penn memorial in Bridgeport--
though there may someday be. For now, his legacy, and his memorial, is 
in every school and business and church, and every citizen on every 
street corner in the city he loved to serve.

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