[Congressional Record Volume 169, Number 171 (Wednesday, October 18, 2023)]
[Senate]
[Pages S5083-S5084]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                       REMEMBERING JOYCE LEVITON

  Mr. CARDIN. Madam President, next week, on October 24, family and 
friends will gather to celebrate the life of Joyce Leviton, a beloved 
member of my staff who passed away after a courageous battle with 
cancer. I imagine it will be a rather large gathering because Joyce 
touched so many people. And while we grieve her death, the event will 
indeed be a celebration of her life, a life she lived brimming with 
contagious happiness and enthusiasm and kindness.
  Joyce was born and raised in Baltimore and graduated from Forest Park 
High School and Towson University, earning her bachelor's degree in 
history in 1966. In 1970, she went to work for the Baltimore City 
Department of Planning as a community planner for the Third District, a 
position she held until 1988, when she became chief of community 
planning. She excelled at her job because she loved it but, more 
importantly, because she loved people and she loved Baltimore. Joyce 
had a knack for bringing people together and giving them a voice in 
their communities and in the city. Everyone was Joyce's neighbor. As I 
said at the time of her death, ``Joyce is Baltimore and she loved our 
community and wanted it to be the best it could possibly be, and always 
went the extra mile. When she spoke about Baltimore, it was from the 
heart. She was a person who made a difference.''
  I was fortunate to have Joyce work on my Senate campaign in 2006 and 
then join my staff as a trusted senior adviser and community liaison 
after the election. Joyce would organize groups of people from 
Baltimore and across the State and bring them to the Capitol for tours 
and luncheons and lectures. She met and worked with Maryland's arts and 
humanities and cultural organizations. She was my ambassador. Everyone 
I met--from all corners of Maryland, it seemed--already knew Joyce and 
was so fond of her.
  The Baltimore Sun obituary referred to Joyce as a ``political 
junkie.'' That is an understatement. Joyce started working on campaigns 
at an early age, and she never stopped. She was deeply involved from 
the national to the State to the local level. As the Sun noted, Joyce 
was one of the founders of the Second District New Democratic Club in 
the early 1970s ``one of the first political groups that joined Black 
and white residents from across the city and resulted in integrated and 
progressive tickets for city and state elections.''
  Joyce was never content to rest on her laurels--or even rest at all. 
She was a member of the steering committee for the Baltimore City Fair 
and National Advisory Council of Neighborhood Reinvestment; a board 
member and vice president of the Citizens Planning and Housing 
Association; a founder of Women Employed in Baltimore and Live 
Baltimore, an organization that encouraged people to move to Baltimore; 
a member of the National Organization for Women; executive secretary of 
Young Democrats of Baltimore; and an active member of Beth Am 
Synagogue. She formed or joined book clubs, and she loved to attend 
cultural events. Joyce was the epitome of a civic activist and 
absolutely committed to social justice, what we members of the Jewish 
faith call ``Tzedakah''--making the world a fair and more just place--
and ``Tikkun Olam''--repairing the world. We are closer to that ideal 
because of Joyce.
  Another one of Joyce's lifelong passions was the Baltimore Orioles. 
She moved to Otterbein in 1981. When Oriole Park at Camden Yards opened 
in 1992, she could walk to the stadium to attend games, which she did--
often. She was no casual fan. The regular season wasn't enough for 
Joyce; she enjoyed going to Sarasota to watch the team during spring 
training.
  Joyce loved people, but she especially loved her family: her sisters 
Susan and Audrey and their husbands Jeffrey Lauren and Peter Martin. 
She doted on her nephews and nieces and their spouses, Jake (Stephanie 
Martin), Liz (Shai Lauros), and Josh (Taieri McKenzie) and their 
children: Max, Lucy, and Emma Martin; Reuben and Micah Lauros; and Lola 
Lauren. Extended family includes her cousin Neil Tucker, who was more 
like a brother to her, his wife Laura, and their children Michael, 
Molly, and Will. She loved to spend weekends and vacations with her 
family in Rehoboth Beach, Maine, and Vermont.
  Everyone who knew Joyce will miss her, but we are all so grateful for 
the opportunity we had to share her friendship and love. And we are all 
so grateful for the indelible mark she made on Baltimore and across 
Maryland.
  The Baltimore Sun had a lovely obituary, and I would ask unanimous 
consent that it be printed in the Record following my remarks.
  There being no objection, the material was ordered to be printed in 
the Record, as follows:

                [From the Baltimore Sun, Jul. 27, 2023]

 Joyce E. Leviton, Former Baltimore Community Planning Chief, Activist 
                        and Civic Booster, Dies

                      (By Frederick N. Rasmussen)

       Joyce E. Leviton, a political activist and civic booster 
     who was chief of community planning for the Baltimore 
     Department of Planning and later became a member of Sen. 
     Benjamin L. Cardin's staff, died of cancer July 19 at 
     Gilchrist Center in Towson. The longtime Otterbein resident 
     was 78.
       ``Joyce is Baltimore and she loved our community and wanted 
     it to be the best it could possibly be, and always went the 
     extra mile,'' Sen. Cardin said. ``When she spoke about 
     Baltimore, it was from the heart. She was a person who made a 
     difference. She touched so many lives in a genuine and 
     special way.''
       Former City Council President Mary Pat Clarke said: ``She 
     meant the world to me and was the center of life itself and 
     in all of its dimensions. The loss of Joyce is the loss of 
     the center of life that no one can replace. Everywhere and 
     everyone, she loved all comers.''
       ``Joyce was ebullient, colorful, kind, a great listener and 
     dedicated to public service,'' said Phoebe Stein, director of 
     the Federation of State Humanities Councils and former 
     executive director of Maryland Humanities, who was a longtime 
     friend.
       ``She was very vibrant and curious about the world and took 
     joy in her work and connecting with people. She lived life to 
     the fullest, her family was her joy, and she was interested 
     in everything that was going on in Maryland and particularly 
     Baltimore.''
       Joyce Ellen Leviton, daughter of Max Leviton, a 
     bacteriologist and manager at the Joseph E. Seagram and Sons 
     Inc. distillery in Relay, and Goldie Bernstein Leviton, an 
     administrative assistant for the state Department of Human 
     Resources, was born in Baltimore and raised in Pimlico 
     neighborhood.

[[Page S5084]]

       She was a graduate of Forest Park High School and attended 
     the University of Maryland, College Park before earning a 
     bachelor's degree in history in 1966 from what is now Towson 
     University.
       ``From an early age, Joyce didn't want to be politically 
     like our parents. She was a progressive Democrat and wanted 
     to fight for people,'' said a sister, Susan Leviton of 
     Otterbein.
       A political junkie from an early age, Ms. Leviton worked on 
     Rep. Carlton R. Sickles' unsuccessful 1966 Maryland 
     gubernatorial run, in which he narrowly lost the Democratic 
     nomination to George P. Mahoney--a contest that had racial 
     overtones.
       Ms. Leviton was one of the founders in the 1970s of the 
     Second District New Democratic Club, which was one of the 
     first political groups that joined Black and white residents 
     from across the city and resulted in integrated and 
     progressive tickets for city and state elections.
       ``The success of that campaign led to future campaigns such 
     as the Clarke/Dalton team, Mary Pat Clarke, Clarence H. `Du' 
     Burns, Nathan Irby, Maggie McIntosh, Anne Perkins and many 
     others,'' according to a biographical profile submitted by 
     Ms. Leviton's family.
       She was a member of the national staff for George McGovern 
     and John Kerry. In 2006, she was a volunteer coordinator and 
     advance coordinator for Sen. Cardin's campaign. She attended 
     five Democratic conventions.
       If politics helped define who Ms. Leviton was, it was also 
     her abiding love for Baltimore that shaped her long career 
     with the city planning department.
       Ms. Leviton joined the department as a 3rd District 
     community planner in 1970, when it was headed by the 
     legendary and visionary Larry Reich. She held this role until 
     being appointed chief of community planning in 1988.
       ``She loved communities and liked getting neighbors 
     involved and having a voice in the city. That's the theme of 
     Joyce,'' her sister said. ``She loved the city and was quite 
     the ambassador for Baltimore. When new people came to town, 
     she got them to move to the city and stay in the city.''
       ``Joyce and I met at the planning department in 1971 when 
     we were both assigned to review hundreds of zoning changes 
     for the Planning commission under the recently adopted zoning 
     code,'' Alfred W. Barry III, who retired as assistant 
     planning director in 1995, wrote in an email.
       ``This work took her throughout the city and her interest 
     in neighborhoods blossomed. From there she became the 3rd 
     District community planner and subsequently chief of 
     community planning, where she hired and mentored two 
     community planners, Thomas J. Stosur and Chris Ryer, who 
     later became planning directors,'' wrote Mr. Barry, the 
     founder and president of AB Associates.
       Said Mr. Stosur, who headed the department from 2009 until 
     retiring in 2018: ``First of all, Joyce was an incredible 
     Baltimore booster and was so enthusiastic and brought that to 
     her work with the planning department and was overjoyed to be 
     a part of it.
       ``She said it was her `favorite job ever,' and she was very 
     good at developing relationships with neighborhoods and 
     politicians. She was the combination of enthusiasm and 
     honesty, and that's what was so impressive about Joyce. As a 
     founding member of the New Democratic Club, her love and 
     skill at community-based politics fed naturally into her 
     successful role planning to ensure that city neighborhoods 
     had a voice.''
       After working on Sen. Cardin's 2006 campaign, Ms. Leviton 
     joined his Capitol Hill staff in 2007 as a senior adviser.
       ``When Joyce died, I heard from dozens and dozens of people 
     from all walks of life who had been touched by her,'' he 
     said. ``When she was given the diagnosis of cancer about a 
     year ago, she still kept going and remained fully engaged. 
     She was just a lovely person.''
       ``Joyce's position on Sen. Cardin's staff could never 
     summarize all that she did for the people of Maryland,'' said 
     Phoebe Stein, director of the Federation of State Humanities 
     Councils and former executive director of Maryland 
     Humanities, who is a longtime friend.
       ``She had an amazing ability, a gift really, to bridge the 
     D.C. and Baltimore, and many communities in between. Of 
     course, she was at every Cardin event, but more amazingly, 
     she was at every cultural event in Maryland that mattered to 
     her and the senator.
       ``And when she arrived, she was informed, focused, smiling 
     and authentically supportive. She knew the ins and outs of 
     every cultural organization in Maryland. You will not find a 
     smarter, kinder, more capable, more knowledgeable advocate 
     for Maryland's cultural sector anywhere.''
       Said Mr. Barry: ``Her role as an advance person for 
     political campaigns came naturally. She could enter a room 
     filled with strangers and leave with five invitations for 
     dinner.''
       With the coronavirus pandemic coming in 2020, Ms. Leviton 
     began working from Sen. Cardin's office and had not retired 
     at her death.
       Ms. Leviton cut a wide swath across numerous boards and 
     commissions in the city, including serving as a member of the 
     steering committee for the Baltimore City Fair and National 
     Advisory Council of Neighborhood Reinvestment, and as a board 
     member and vice president of Citizens Planning and Housing 
     Association.
       She was a founder of Women Employed in Baltimore and Live 
     Baltimore, an organization that encouraged people to settle 
     and stay in the city. She was also a member of the National 
     Organization for Women, executive secretary of Young 
     Democrats of Baltimore, and a member of Beth Am Synagogue, 
     where she on the social action committee.
       Being a resident of Otterbein since 1981 allowed Ms. 
     Leviton to indulge her lifelong passion for the Orioles and 
     walk to games at Camden Yards.
       She was an integral part of the South Baltimore-Federal 
     Hill social scene, where she had established a book club and 
     enjoyed dining in restaurants and cafes.
       An inveterate traveler, she enjoyed visiting Europe, 
     Rehoboth Beach, Delaware, Maine and Vermont.
       Plans for an autumn celebration of life gathering are 
     incomplete.
       In addition to her sister, Ms. Leviton is survived by 
     another sister, Audrey Leviton of Homeland, and several 
     nieces and nephews.

                          ____________________