[Congressional Record Volume 151, Number 9 (Wednesday, February 2, 2005)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E137]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




          HONORING COLORADO SENATE PRESIDENT JOAN FITZ-GERALD

                                 ______
                                 

                            HON. MARK UDALL

                              of colorado

                    in the house of representatives

                      Wednesday, February 2, 2005

  Mr. UDALL of Colorado. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor my good 
friend, Joan Fitz-Gerald. Senator Fitz-Gerald is the first woman to 
lead the Colorado State Senate and is the only female Senate President 
in the entire country.
  When you meet Joan, who stands at about 5'1", the first image that 
comes to mind is not necessarily that of a woman capable of breaking 
ceilings, glass or otherwise. Yet she has done just that since she 
first ran for Jefferson County Clerk and Recorder in 1990. At the time, 
many people thought that she had been recruited to run for County Clerk 
and Recorder as little more than a Democratic place holder on the 
ballot. No Democrat had won in a county-wide election in the previous 
15 years and no woman had ever held the position of County Clerk and 
Recorder in the history of Jefferson County. But Joan has always been 
more interested in breaking glass ceilings than in being a place 
holder. She campaigned hard on a solid platform and won that election. 
She served in the Clerk and Recorder's office until 1998. In 2000, she 
ran for the Colorado Senate.
  Again she waged an uphill battle in a district that was traditionally 
difficult for a Democrat and was once again successful against popular 
convention of the time. Her victory gave Democrats the one seat 
majority they needed to take back control of the Senate. When the 
Democrats lost their majority the following election cycle, Senator 
Fitz-Gerald again made history by become the first female Minority 
Leader of the Senate.
  In this past election cycle, Joan was one of the key leaders to 
orchestrate a plan to take back the Senate for the Democrats. She did 
this while caring for her ailing mother and caring for her brother who 
was diagnosed with leukemia. She lost both within 11 days of one 
another after the election.
  It is a sign of the sincerity and strength of one's character when 
friends and foes alike agree about another person's character. Anyone 
who knows her, friend or foe, will say that she is a fighter. More than 
that she is also a person interested in advancing the goals of 
community service. She may be on the verge of becoming Colorado's Harry 
Truman. But then again, maybe Harry Truman was Missouri's Joan Fitz-
Gerald.
  Senator Joan Fitz-Gerald is a strong, smart, savvy woman. I am proud 
that she is the Colorado State Senate President and even more proud 
that she is my friend. I ask my colleagues on both sides of the aisle 
to join me in honoring Joan Fitz-Gerald for her achievement.

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