[Congressional Record Volume 160, Number 123 (Friday, August 1, 2014)]
[Senate]
[Page S5324]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                     REMEMBERING JOHN VASCONCELLOS

 Mrs. BOXER. Madam President, I ask my colleagues to join me in 
honoring the memory of John Vasconcellos, a giant in California 
politics and government who died on May 24 at the age of 82. John made 
the personal political and took politics personally. He was a 
compassionate and caring human being who brought all of his humanity to 
the job of governance.
  John Bernard Vasconcellos, Jr., was born in San Jose, CA in 1932. 
After graduating with high honors from Bellarmine College Preparatory 
and Santa Clara University, John spent 2 years in the Army before 
returning to Santa Clara for law school, where he again graduated at 
the top of his class.
  John became interested in politics while serving on Governor Pat 
Brown's reelection campaign staff during Brown's epic 1962 race against 
Richard Nixon.
  In 1966, John was elected to the California State Assembly, beginning 
a record 38 years of uninterrupted service in the Legislature.
  In the assembly, John was known for his visionary idealism, brilliant 
intellect, and tough pragmatism. His mastery of budget issues led to 
his chairmanship of the powerful Ways and Means Committee, where he 
championed State investment in education. His deep interest in 
psychology led to the establishment of the California Task Force to 
Promote Self-Esteem and Personal and Social Responsibility.
  When term limits forced John to leave the assembly in 1996, he was 
elected to the State senate. As chair of the senate committees on 
education and aging, he championed new investments in K-12, higher 
education and long-term care while winning bipartisan praise for his 
careful fiscal stewardship.
  In 2004, term limits ended John's legislative career, but he did not 
retire. Joining with a group of friends and supporters, he established 
the Vasconcellos Legacy Project, VLP, an organization ``dedicated to 
the proposition that positive political change is possible, especially 
because we human beings are innately inclined toward the good.'' 
Through research and advocacy, the VLP has sought to overcome political 
polarization and cynicism to create a new ``Politics of Trust.''
  Throughout his long and distinguished life in politics, John 
Vasconcellos demanded expected the best from himself, his colleagues, 
and our democracy. He was one of a kind, and he will be truly missed. I 
extend my deepest condolences to his loving extended family and many 
friends and admirers.

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