[Congressional Record Volume 157, Number 64 (Wednesday, May 11, 2011)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E860]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




            IN HONOR AND REMEMBRANCE OF MAYOR RALPH J. PERK

                                 ______
                                 

                        HON. DENNIS J. KUCINICH

                                of ohio

                    in the house of representatives

                        Wednesday, May 11, 2011

  Mr. KUCINICH. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in honor and remembrance of 
Mayor Ralph J. Perk, the 52nd mayor of the City of Cleveland, as he is 
posthumously inducted into ClevelandPeople.com's International Hall of 
Fame.
  Mayor Perk was born on January 19, 1914 in Cleveland, Ohio to Mary 
and Joseph Perk. He attended elementary school at Our Lady of Lourdes 
School. After earning his high school diploma, Mayor Perk studied 
history, political science and mathematics at Case Western Reserve 
University and St. John College. Throughout his adolescence Ralph 
worked as a pattern maker and later an ice peddler with his brother, 
George, at Perk Coal & Ice Co. In 1940, Perk married Lucille Gagliardi; 
they had seven children and were together for 59 years.
  At the age of 20, Perk joined the 13th Ward Republican Club and in 
1953 was elected as the ward's council member. During his five terms as 
the Broadway-E.55th Street councilman, Perk organized the American 
Nationalities Movement, an agency that represents 35 ethnic and 
nationality groups. Mayor Perk was an outspoken proponent of human 
rights and is well known for his celebration of cultural diversity. In 
1962, Perk was elected as Cuyahoga County Auditor, and became the first 
Republican elected to county office since the 1930s. He was reelected 
twice and served as a county official until 1970.
  Mayor Perk became the 52nd mayor of the City of Cleveland in 1971 and 
was reelected in 1973 and 1975. While in office Mayor Perk was 
instrumental in the creation and establishment of the Northeast Ohio 
Regional Sewer District, the Greater Cleveland Regional Transit 
Authority, the Office of International Trade at Cleveland's City Hall 
and the U.S. Conference of Mayors' Republican Mayors caucus. After 
serving as the Mayor of Cleveland, in 1978, Mr. Perk began a consulting 
business, Ralph Perk & Associates Inc. Mayor Perk was a political 
figure and prominent businessman in the City of Cleveland until his 
death on April 21, 1999.
  Mr. Speaker and colleagues, please join me in honor and remembrance 
of Mayor Ralph J. Perk as he is celebrated at ClevelandPeople.com's 
International Hall of Fame ceremony.

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