[Congressional Record Volume 155, Number 17 (Wednesday, January 28, 2009)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E168]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                       TRIBUTE TO KATHLEEN CALLAN

                                 ______
                                 

                           HON. BRIAN HIGGINS

                              of new york

                    in the house of representatives

                      Wednesday, January 28, 2009

  Mr. HIGGINS. Madam Speaker, I rise today to ask the House to join me 
in honoring a great Western New Yorker--one of many who are intentional 
Western New Yorkers, those who have chosen to live in our region as 
opposed to natives like myself. I rise today to honor Kathleen Callan 
as she ends her tenure as Executive Director of the Erie County 
Democratic Committee.
  Kathy is a New Jersey native; a product of the Philadelphia, PA 
suburbs, educated first in local schools and later at American 
University in Washington, DC, where she earned her undergraduate 
degree. After high school experiences that included internships with 
then-Senator Bill Bradley and Congressman Rob Andrews, Kathy and her 
husband Tim moved to Western New York in 1995, as Tim studied for his 
PhD at the University at Buffalo.
  Following a lengthy stint at the Western New York chapter of the 
American Lung Association which was marked by successful lobbying for 
passage of clean indoor air and anti-smoking legislation at the county 
and state levels, Kathy assumed the Executive Director's position upon 
the election of Chairman Len Lenihan in 2002.
  From January 2003 to just a few days ago, Kathy served tirelessly as 
Executive Director, managing the day to day operations of the busiest 
and most successful county Democratic Party organization in upstate New 
York. Kathy's record of successful contributions to candidates for 
public office runs the gamut of offices in New York State. From trustee 
positions in the smallest villages of Erie County, to countywide 
offices like Comptroller and County Clerk, to state legislative and 
congressional officeholders and Justices of the State Supreme Court, 
several dozen public officeholders--myself included--owe Kathy a 
tremendous debt of gratitude for her intellect and instinct, her 
dedication and loyalty, and her tireless commitment to public service.
  For that latter point, Madam Speaker, I do not wish to belabor, but 
instead to amplify. Over the past six years, Kathy worked literally 
scores of 80, 90 or 100-hour workweeks, dependent of course upon the 
time of year and the political calendar's requirements, in order to 
ensure that candidates for public office had the services they needed. 
As myself a former Secretary--a lifetime ago, it seems--of the very 
party she served so proudly, I can honestly say that no staff member of 
our local organization ever worked as hard, or as effectively, as Kathy 
Callan has.
  So, Madam Speaker, it is with a somewhat heavy heart that we bid 
farewell to Kathy as Executive Director of the Erie County Democratic 
Committee, although I am certain that we will see her often. I hope the 
House will join me in wishing Kathy and her husband Tim good luck and 
Godspeed in all of their future endeavors, and again congratulate Kathy 
on a job superbly done.

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