[Congressional Record Volume 153, Number 121 (Thursday, July 26, 2007)]
[Senate]
[Pages S10146-S10147]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                         HONORING DAVID A. WAKS

 Mr. LAUTENBERG. Mr. President, this week New Jersey lost one 
of its great citizens when Judge David A. Waks passed away far too 
early in life at 66 years of age.
  I have known the Waks family over a number of years and his son, Joe 
Waks, carries on a proud family tradition of public service as chief of 
staff of my Senate operations in New Jersey.
  David Waks was respected and admired for his candid, forthright 
action on decency and integrity in Government service. Known as someone 
who had a sympathetic ear and a generous heart, so much so that when a 
person in serious need sought his help he would reach into his own 
limited resources to assist. He was a model of a compassionate public 
servant who all in public service should emulate. Anyone who had the 
good fortune to know him was inspired by his genuine affection and 
concern. His life was exemplary and I wanted to ensure that a permanent 
record of David Waks' life existed as an outstanding example of how 
public service can be ennobled by the right kind of leadership.
  I ask that an article from the Herald News be printed in the Record.
  The article follows

                   [From Herald News, July 19, 2007]

                 David A. Waks, 66, Led Life of Service

                          (By Suzanne Travers)

       Wayne.--David A. Waks, who championed integrity in public 
     service for almost 40 years, first as a councilman, then as 
     mayor in Wayne, and later as a state Superior Court judge in 
     Paterson, died at his home here Wednesday.
       The cause of death was lung cancer, diagnosed in mid-
     November, his wife, Joan, said.
       Waks, 66, who once described himself to a reporter as an 
     ``ornery cuss'' but told voters they could count on him to be 
     fair-minded, even-handed and flexible, was known for his 
     honesty, compassion, intelligence and hard work.
       ``He was one of Passaic County's real jewels,'' said Rep. 
     Bill Pascrell Jr. (D-Paterson), a close friend for whom Waks' 
     son, Joseph, previously worked as spokesman.
       Born and raised in Paterson, Waks moved to Wayne and got 
     his start in politics in 1971 as an advocate for local 
     tenants after his landlord hiked his apartment's rent by 20 
     percent.
       He was elected to the council with heavy support from 5th 
     Ward renters, and continued to support enforcement of 
     tenants' rights. Often the only Democrat on a Republican 
     governing body, Waks was elected mayor in 1994 and again in 
     1997, resigning to become judge in 2000.
       In December 1971, Wayne's township council voted to give 
     one of its last liquor licenses to the friend of a 
     councilman. Soon after he was sworn in, in January 1972, Waks 
     drafted a resolution to rescind the issuance of the license. 
     To avoid public allegations of cronyism, the councilman's 
     friend returned the license before the resolution could go 
     before the council, and the license was later issued to a 
     Vietnam veteran who opened a now-defunct liquor store on 
     Route 23.
       ``It was a nice way to get started,'' said Waks. 
     ``Everybody knew the first time it was political patronage. 
     It was the first thing I ever did, and still one of the 
     proudest.''
       Waks' tenure coincided with an era in which former Wayne 
     officials, including its

[[Page S10147]]

     former mayor, business administrator, and township attorney, 
     pleaded guilty to taking part in various bribery schemes 
     involving developers. Later, Waks and his wife, an attorney 
     who served on the Wayne council after her husband's 
     departure, sued the wrongdoers for damages in an innovative 
     racketeering lawsuit that brought the township more than 
     $300,000.
       Running for mayor, Waks refused to take campaign 
     contributions from those doing business with the township.
       ``He drove me nuts in this office,'' Beverly Tierney, 
     administrative assistant in the Wayne mayor's office, said of 
     her friend and former boss. ``He never let anyone do 
     anything. He would not accept a gift. A restaurant sent over 
     a tray of cookies, and he had me send them back.''
       He was sworn in as a Civil Division judge in state Superior 
     Court in Paterson seven years ago today, according to 
     Assignment Judge Robert Passero.
       Waks wasn't above getting personally involved in his job, 
     according to Passero. He recalled a case before Waks in which 
     a single mother with children faced eviction for failure to 
     pay rent. ``He gave her the money to pay the rent,'' Passero 
     said. ``While liking inwardly what he did, I actually had to 
     admonish him for that as not being appropriate.''
       For as hard as he worked and as compassionate as he was, 
     Passero said Waks never let the grandiosity of being a judge 
     go to his head. ``He was the type of guy who never wore 
     socks. I think he still wore the same ties as he had in high 
     school,'' he said, with a laugh. ``He was very unassuming. 
     Very casual.''
       Passero added, ``He studied hard, he worked hard. In my 
     opinion, he was an ideal judge.''
       Waks graduated School 20 and Eastside High School in 
     Paterson, and received a bachelor's degree from Rutgers 
     University. In 1966, he earned a law degree from Georgetown 
     University, where he met his wife. He joined his father, 
     Isadore Waks, in his Paterson law practice the following 
     year. On occasion Waks filled in for his father as attorney 
     for Paterson's Board of Adjustment, and gave the money he 
     earned for that work to his mother, Joan Waks said. Later, 
     Waks continued as a solo practitioner.
       State Sen. John Girgenti, D-Hawthorne, who appointed Waks 
     to state Superior Court, said Waks was ``a perfect candidate 
     for the bench, because he got along well with everyone.''
       Waks received a lifetime appointment to the bench before 
     the state Senate Judiciary Committee in May, Joan Waks said. 
     Family members brought a wheelchair because he was weak at 
     that point, but Waks stood for a brief speech about how 
     ``important it was to serve the people,'' said his wife.
       ``He really was so proud to be recognized for the work he 
     did,'' she said. ``He loved being a judge.''
       Waks quit smoking about 15 years ago, his wife said. She 
     said he expressed his fear about dying and said he was ``not 
     ready to go.'' ``I don't think he believed it 'til the end,'' 
     she said. ``He died like he lived, stubbornly.''
       In addition to his wife, Waks is survived by a brother, Jay 
     Waks, of Larchmont, N.Y.; his children, Joseph Waks and his 
     wife Nancy Slowe of Bayonne; daughters Jennifer Kennelly and 
     her husband Thomas, of Pompton Plains; and Melanie Graceffo 
     and her husband Gerald, of Cranford, six grandchildren: Cole, 
     McKenzie, and Aidan Kennelly, and Gordon, Gabriel, and Isabel 
     Graceffo, and what his wife termed ``his two granddogs.''
       Joan Waks said she would hold a ``family-only'' service 
     Monday. Waks, who was proud to be Jewish but nonpracticing, 
     will be cremated, she said. A memorial service will likely be 
     held Aug. 4 at DePaul High School in Wayne, where Waks sold 
     coffee at Friday bingo games long past the time their 
     children attended the school. Wayne Mayor Scott Rumana 
     ordered flags to fly at half staff for 30 days to honor 
     Waks.

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