[Congressional Record Volume 152, Number 33 (Wednesday, March 15, 2006)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E370]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




   HONORING THE LIFE OF NEW YORK STATE ASSEMBLYWOMAN SANDRA LEE WIRTH

                                 ______
                                 

                           HON. BRIAN HIGGINS

                              of new york

                    in the house of representatives

                       Wednesday, March 15, 2006

  Mr. HIGGINS. Mr. Speaker, today I rise to mark a very sad occasion: 
the passing of my former colleague in the New York State Assembly, 
Assemblywoman Sandra Lee Wirth.
  Last Saturday, Sandra Lee lost her courageous battle with lung 
cancer. She undertook this fight--like all others she took on, and 
there were many--with the grace, poise and dignity that we all came to 
expect from her.
  Born Sandra Lee Liberatore in West Seneca, Sandra Lee was a realtor 
by profession, and was President of the Greater Buffalo Association of 
Realtors in the early 1990s. At that time, during a county fiscal 
crisis, the Erie County Legislature instituted a county Real Estate 
Transfer Tax to fund the operation of mass transit services in Erie 
County. As one might imagine, Sandra Lee was appalled and swore to do 
something about it. She did.
  Sandra Lee took on and defeated an entrenched incumbent in the Erie 
County Legislature. During Sandra Lee's 3 years in the County 
Legislature, she was a fighter for senior citizens and property 
taxpayers. She was also a great opponent of government waste: she 
refused various ``perks'' of the job and funded the operation of her 
legislative district office personally.
  In 1994, the incumbent in the then-148th district seat of the New 
York State Assembly was retiring, and Sandra Lee jumped into the race 
with the same vigor that she took to the race for the County 
Legislature. In another heated and expensive campaign, Sandra Lee again 
defeated the same person she defeated for the County Legislature in 
this race for the Assembly.
  It was in the Assembly that I got to know--and deeply respect--Sandra 
Lee Wirth. Although we came from different political parties and were 
of different generations, few people were as kind to me upon my 
election to the Assembly in 1998 as Sandra Lee was. We represented 
adjacent districts, and in addition to sharing a border, our respective 
communities shared many important characteristics and on local issues 
affecting our communities, Sandra Lee and I worked together very well.
  In 2002, the legislative redistricting process was underway--and lo 
and behold--Sandra Lee Wirth and I were redistricted into the same 
Assembly district when her hometown of West Seneca was added to my 
Assembly district. In initial news reports, Sandra Lee was quoted as 
saying, ``I'm running where I live, Period.''
  Mr. Speaker, I'm glad Sandra Lee changed her mind. Rather than 
contest an election against me, Sandra Lee instead chose to run in a 
newly created district east and south of West Seneca. She continued to 
serve in the Assembly until her death last week.
  In 2004, Sandra Lee was forced to deal with another challenge--the 
illness and subsequent death of her husband Bill. When I saw Sandra Lee 
at Bill's wake, she spoke lovingly of ``her Billy,'' and as she 
struggled through Bill's illness and her own, Sandra Lee's love of her 
family and her community never waned.
  Every fight that Sandra Lee Wirth fought was waged with dignity and 
aplomb. Her commitment to public service was as strong as any I have 
ever witnessed. I am proud to have called her a colleague, but Mr. 
Speaker, I am prouder still to have called her my friend. May God 
ensure that she rests in peace.

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