[Congressional Record Volume 156, Number 161 (Wednesday, December 8, 2010)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E2082]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




          A TRIBUTE IN HONOR OF THE LIFE OF JOSEPH R. CERRELL

                                 ______
                                 

                           HON. ANNA G. ESHOO

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                      Wednesday, December 8, 2010

  Ms. ESHOO. Madam Speaker, I rise today to honor the extraordinary 
life of Joseph R. ``Joe'' Cerrell, iconic political consultant and one 
of the longtime pillars of the Los Angeles community, who died on 
December 3, 2010, in Camarillo, California. A political consultant 
before the profession existed, Joe Cerell filled his dynamic 75 years 
with public affairs, public relations and public service.
  There's a classic photo of John F. Kennedy riding through a Los 
Angeles ticker-tape parade, with a grinning Joe Cerrell sitting right 
in the front of the car. That was Joe--always smiling, always, out 
front, always driving the process--and of course, always showered in 
adulation. For five decades, Joe's passion, principle and unrivaled 
political acumen influenced state and national politics, and his 
forward-thinking work truly helped shape the country and modern 
California, his adopted home.
  Joe Cerrell was born June 19, 1935 in New York City, to Sal, a 
firefighter, and Marion Cerella, a switchboard operator. No doubt it's 
from his parents that Joe learned to put out political fires and to 
organize and connect people with legendary efficiency. Moving west to 
Los Angeles in his teens, Joe Cerrell finished high school and enrolled 
at USC. It was there, after founding the Trojan Democratic Club, that 
Joe began his lifelong political career. As a junior, he began 
arranging Kennedy's California visits, ultimately becoming Kennedy's 
California personal aide. Having caught the attention of Jesse Unruh, 
Joe soon found himself working on Unruh's State Assembly campaign, and 
later, on Attorney General Edmund G. ``Pat'' Brown's gubernatorial 
campaign.
  After graduating in 1957 with a degree in Political Science, 24-year-
old Joe was tapped by Unruh to head the California Democratic Party, 
the youngest ever to lead the state party. Joe then served as Kennedy's 
California campaign manager in 1960, an experience that ultimately led 
Joe to both his greatest love and greatest heartbreak. At Kennedy's 
urging, Joe became engaged to Lee Bullock, a fellow campaign worker. 
After Vice President Johnson asked them to postpone their wedding in 
order to staff an event, the couple finally celebrated their wedding. 
While on their honeymoon in Paris, Joe and Lee read about Kennedy's 
assassination and wept with the world.
  Together with Lee, Joe founded his own political consulting firm in 
1967, Cerrell Associates. Over the years, Joe advised the presidential 
campaigns of Kennedy, Johnson, Hubert Humphrey, Lloyd Bentsen, John 
Glenn, and Al Gore. His statewide clients included the likes of Willie 
Brown and Jerry Brown, whom Joe first helped win a seat on the Los 
Angeles Junior College Board in a 124-candidate race. In later years, 
Joe's outstanding record of electing judicial candidates earned him the 
title of ``the judge-maker.'' Notable dignitaries such as the Dalai 
Lama and His Holiness Catholicos Vazken I and Catholicos Karekin I 
sought out Joe to manage their California tours, with the latter 
earning Cerrell Associates a ``Best Special Event'' Award from the 
Public Relations Society of America--Los Angeles. Their long list of 
clients was a testament to Joe's extraordinary management and strategic 
skills, and the firm expanded their influence by adding a Washington, 
D.C. office in 1983, eventually becoming the 43rd-largest independently 
owned PR firm in the country.
  This success earned Joe countless accolades. He won a PRism Award for 
being an ``Outstanding PR Professional'' and Cerrell Associates was 
named ``Small Family-Owned Business of the Year'' by the Los Angeles 
Business Journal. Embracing his role as one of Los Angeles' most 
prominent political professionals, Joe served as president and on the 
boards of both the American Association of Political Consultants and 
the International Association of Political Consultants.
  In addition to his professional work, Joe found time to become one of 
Los Angeles' most involved and civic-minded residents. He served on the 
Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum Commission during the 1984 Olympics and 
was chairman of the Hollywood Wilshire YMCA. Returning to his alma 
mater, he co-founded and taught at USC's Jesse M. Unruh Institute of 
Politics, and lectured widely across the country. For his years of 
outstanding contributions to the city, the Central City Association 
named Cerrell a ``Treasure of Los Angeles.'' But despite all that he 
did for his adopted hometown, Joe Cerrell never abandoned his New York 
roots, often requiring family and colleagues to play Frank Sinatra's 
``New York, New York'' at events. That was the sense of humor and zest 
for life Joe brought with him everywhere.
  Madam Speaker, I ask my colleagues to join me in extending our 
deepest condolences to Joe Cerrell's wife, Lee; his children, Steve, 
Sharon and Joe; his sons- and daughters-in-law; and his seven wonderful 
grandchildren. Joe Cerrell embodied a time of political engagement and 
civility that made him one of the most sought-after political 
commentators and earned him friends across the political spectrum. He 
was a progressive pioneer, credited with helping ``to create modern 
political consulting'' by Professor Ann N. Crigler, Chair of USC's 
Political Science Department, and praised as ``a great champion of 
progressive political causes'' by former Vice President Al Gore. His 
death truly represents the passing of an era, and for me, the passing 
of a dear friend. I'm honored to pay tribute to Joe Cerrell for his 
incredible role in shaping our State and our country.

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