[Congressional Record Volume 157, Number 188 (Thursday, December 8, 2011)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E2207-E2208]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                       IN HONOR OF SCOTT KENNEDY

                                 ______
                                 

                             HON. SAM FARR

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                       Thursday, December 8, 2011

  Mr. FARR. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor the life of a good 
friend and great leader who passed away unexpectedly on November 19, 
2011. His energy, intelligence, and dedication served the City of Santa 
Cruz since 1976, when he co-founded the Resource Center for 
Nonviolence. In 1991, Scott began his political career, serving on the 
Santa Cruz City Council from 1991 to 1998 and again from 2001-2003. He 
also served as the mayor of Santa Cruz in 1994 and 2004. Throughout his 
life, Scott demonstrated a strong commitment to his community and he 
will be dearly missed. I am proud to honor my friend and his service to 
the City of Santa Cruz and to the rest of the world.
  Scott was born in Nebraska on December 9, 1948, and grew up in San 
Jose, California. He began his advocacy for international peace while 
attending the University of California at Santa Cruz when as a freshman 
he first traveled to the Israel-Palestine region. Middle

[[Page E2208]]

Eastern issues were at the forefront of Scott's advocacy and he led 
some 25 delegations to the Middle East with increasing success over 
three decades of involvement. Since the mid-1970s Scott attempted to 
amplify the voices of Israelis and Palestinians who are committed to 
participating in a nonviolent struggle for lasting peace. Scott's 
tenacity and passion provided the foundation from which the Resource 
Center for Nonviolence has continued to prosper to this day. His later 
heavy involvement with the Washington, D.C.-based group Interfaith 
Peace Builders only adds to his great strides toward world peace. His 
lifetime of humanitarian service was honored in 2010 when he received 
the Pfeffer Peace Prize.
  The Loma Prieta earthquake in 1989 was a jumping off point for 
Scott's local political career. Several affordable housing activists, 
afraid the disaster would result in a lack of affordable housing, 
recruited Scott to be their voice and run for city council. During his 
time in elected office, he worked to construct low-income housing, 
build a community soccer field, pass a resolution against the first 
Iraq war and permanently preserve several greenbelt properties on the 
city's perimeter. His intelligence and passion challenged and taught 
those who served alongside him to do their very best for Santa Cruz.
  Throughout all of these great achievements, Scott had the stalwart 
support of his loving family. He is survived by his wife and soulmate, 
Kristin (Kris), his two sons, Peter and Benjamin and his daughter 
Megan, who served in this Chamber as a Congressional House Page. His 
entire family actively supported his work by door-to-door canvassing 
and later travelling to Israel and Palestine. Scott described his 
family, and his wife Kris in particular, as his bedrock. The support 
she gave him made possible his lifelong humanitarian and political 
success.
  Mr. Speaker, on behalf of the House of Representatives, I would like 
to extend our Nation's deepest condolences to Scott Kennedy's family 
for their loss. I would like to honor his great struggle for peace and 
his service to the City of Santa Cruz. He was a treasured Mayor, 
father, and husband and he will be greatly missed.

                          ____________________