[Congressional Record Volume 153, Number 68 (Thursday, April 26, 2007)]
[Senate]
[Pages S5167-S5168]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                      FORMER SPEAKER JOHN O'BRIEN

  Ms. CANTWELL. Madam President, I rise today to commemorate and pay 
tribute to the life of a great Washingtonian, a great American, and 
someone who in the State of Washington will be remembered for his great 
contributions and who will be remembered across our country. I am 
talking about our former Washington State Speaker of the House, John L. 
O'Brien, who died this past week at the age of 95. Speaker O'Brien 
actually passed away on the last day of this year's legislative 
session, almost an appropriate dedication for him for the remembrance 
of his service in our State government.
  I am proud to say John L. O'Brien was a good friend, a mentor, and 
someone who imparted a lot of political wisdom in the State of 
Washington. He served in our State legislature for 52 years, from 1939 
to 1993, and he served as speaker of the house for a chunk of that 
period, 1955 to 1963. He served under nine different Governors. At one 
point in time, I believe, he held the record in our country for the 
longest serving State legislator.
  He did a tremendous job as majority leader; I am sure at times as 
minority leader; as speaker, as I mentioned, speaker pro tem. I believe 
he served on every single committee in our State legislature. He led 
our State's government through some great challenges

[[Page S5168]]

for us and for our country. He literally was in office when the United 
States went to declare World War II in 1954. He was speaker when the 
first flight of the Boeing 707 was completed. He saw the Space Needle 
completed for the World's Fair that was held in Seattle in 1962. He was 
there when Microsoft was founded. He led our State through the 
challenging times responding to Mount St. Helen's eruption in 1980. And 
he was there to lead our celebration as Washington State celebrated our 
100th anniversary as a State in 1989.
  But John O'Brien also was a man who thought about the future, and he 
has an unending list of accomplishments that literally touched the 
lives of thousands of Washingtonians. He changed the course of history 
in our State by his generosity, by his leadership, by his commitment, 
his inspiration.
  I know my remarks will not do him justice, but I just want to say 
that he did a lot in a time and period of making sure that despite the 
lofty position he held in the house, he never lost track of what the 
constituents of his district and of our State cared about. He worked on 
property tax relief for seniors and low-income individuals. He fought 
for prescription and over-the-counter drug information labeling so that 
seniors knew what kind of products they were purchasing. He was a 
champion of State employee collective bargaining and workplace safety 
issues. He sponsored Washington State's first clean air act. That might 
sound like something lots of people do, but he actually sponsored that 
legislation in 1940. So he was ahead of his time in thinking about 
Washington State's environment and how to preserve the pristine quality 
of life that is so important to us.
  He helped to establish one of the first programs in the Nation to 
commit a percentage of our construction budget for the creation of art. 
He helped save and restore Franklin High School. He worked to make sure 
we established a drug-free zone and got legislation passed removing the 
sales tax from items sold at charitable auctions.
  John O'Brien represented one of the most diverse neighborhoods in 
Seattle, an area called the Rainer Valley. The Rainer Valley began as 
an Irish and Italian community of immigrants, and with Speaker 
O'Brien's leadership, it helped to incorporate various waves of new 
immigrants from various communities: the Chinese-American community, 
Japanese, Filipino, African American, Orthodox Jews, Vietnamese, East 
African, and Hispanic citizens. Now, it is, as I said, one of the most 
diverse areas of our State.
  When the Seattle Times ran a story about Speaker O'Brien's life and 
how his values were shaped, they said:

       Mr. O'Brien was just 7 years old when his Irish immigrant 
     father, a detective with the Seattle Police, came home after 
     a particularly tough day on the job. He turned to his eldest 
     son and asked, rhetorically, ``What will ever become of you 
     if something happens to me?''

  Two years later his father was shot and killed while on duty. That 
left the young Mr. O'Brien to help his mother, also an Irish immigrant, 
care for their siblings. By the time he was a teenager, he was bringing 
home a paycheck as a truckdriver for Keefe's Grocery in Rainier Valley. 
He went on to start his own accounting firm.
  The Seattle Post-Intelligencer quoted former Governor Dan Evans, who 
knew John O'Brien well, who said:

       He knew how to lead and occasionally when things got 
     rambunctious, he had to have a heavy gavel to get things back 
     in order.

  Evans remembered one time when he challenged an O'Brien ruling, 
O'Brien slammed his gavel down so hard the head snapped off.
  While O'Brien was a fiscally conservative Democrat, he understood 
what the role of the speaker required of him. He was always ready to 
have a good time.

  I remember that if there was ever anybody who captured the saying, 
``when Irish eyes are smiling,'' it was John O'Brien because he had a 
twinkle in his eye and a way to get people engaged. When I entered the 
State legislature at the age of 28, I was the youngest member at the 
time, and he was the most senior member of our legislature. Knowing of 
my Irish heritage background, he got me to commit to him that I would 
participate in St. Patrick's Day celebrations in his office by doing 
the Irish jig if, in fact, he produced someone with a bagpipe.
  Well, unbeknownst to me, our secretary of state, Ralph Monroe, of 
Scottish heritage, had such bagpipes stored in his office and was quite 
frequently seen in the halls of Olympia playing the bagpipes. So on St. 
Patrick's Day I did participate in Speaker O'Brien's St. Patrick's Day 
celebration, as did our secretary of state, Ralph Monroe, and many 
others.
  I hope to this day that there is not a picture of my rendition of my 
Irish heritage dance. But I know I will always remember on St. 
Patrick's Day John O'Brien and his great service and his heritage in 
our State.
  On the last two pages of his biography, ``Speaker of the House,'' 
Speaker John O'Brien sums up his philosophy on how to survive in a 
legislature. He said:

       Do your best, count the votes, and, win or lose, move on to 
     other pressing issues.

  He said:

       It might stay with you for a while, but as far as being 
     disappointed, you cannot let it remain as a personal matter 
     because there's always another rollcall. There's always 
     another day.

  We can find inspiration in Speaker O'Brien's service as we face tough 
legislative issues here and as we face our vote today. No matter on 
what side of the political aisle you stand, we can all join in honoring 
the inspiration from others who have served and honoring the life of 
Speaker John L. O'Brien for his lifetime of public service.
  My thoughts are with his family: his wife Mary, their six children, 
John O'Brien, Jr., Laurie, MaryAnn, Karen, Jeannie, and Paul, and to 
their grandchildren.
  John O'Brien was a great Washingtonian, a great citizen of our 
country, and we will miss him, and we will try to live up to his 
accomplishments and to his legacy.
  Madam President, I yield the floor and suggest the absence of a 
quorum.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will call the roll.
  The legislative clerk proceeded to call the roll.
  Ms. MURKOWSKI. I ask unanimous consent that the order for the quorum 
call be rescinded.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  (The remarks of Ms. Murkowski pertaining to the introduction of S. 
1236 are located in today's Record under ``Statements on Introduced 
Bills and Joint Resolutions.'')

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