[Congressional Record Volume 158, Number 16 (Wednesday, February 1, 2012)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E104-E105]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                  IN CELEBRATION OF MARY CLARE HIGGINS

                                 ______
                                 

                          HON. RICHARD E. NEAL

                            of massachusetts

                    in the house of representatives

                      Wednesday, February 1, 2012

  Mr. NEAL. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to acknowledge the 
accomplishments of former Mayor of Northampton, Massachusetts, Mary 
Clare Higgins. Born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and raised in 
Brooklyn, New York, Mary Clare Higgins was the eldest girl among her 
six siblings. Mayor Higgins later settled in Northampton in the late 
1970s where she followed in the footsteps of her father and became 
involved in local politics.
  Ms. Higgins' first involvement in local government came in 1990 when 
she was appointed by the Commonwealth of Massachusetts to the 
Massachusetts Housing Authority. Distinguishing herself through her 
various roles in municipal government, Ms. Higgins was first elected to 
the Northampton City Council in 1994 and later as president of the 
council in 1998. Since her election as mayor in 2000, Ms. Higgins has 
dually served as President of the Massachusetts Mayors' Association and 
was a member of the Municipal Finance Task Force of Metro Mayors 
Coalition.
  During her tenure as mayor, Ms. Higgins has served as an advocate for 
the preservation and expansion of Northampton in the twenty-first 
century. With her initiative for growth within the community, Mayor 
Higgins saw promise in the development of Hospital Hill and the ongoing 
preservation of open space throughout the city. Her accomplishments as 
mayor have been recognized by a number of local, statewide, and 
nationwide organizations for her distinguished service.
  Mary Clare Higgins has been an important part of the history and the 
further advancement of Northampton in the years to come. She in her 
role as a civil servant has placed her responsibility as a municipal 
leader first. Her contributions to the well-being of those whom she had 
the privilege to represent for over a decade is a testimony of the 
quality of leadership Mayor Higgins has displayed. I am honored to have 
known Mary Clare Higgins and I offer her my warmest regards and wishes 
for her future endeavors.

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