[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 145 (1999), Part 1]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page 1200]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]



       TRIBUTE TO FORMER CALIFORNIA STATE SENATOR QUENTIN L. KOPP

                                 ______
                                 

                            HON. TOM LANTOS

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                       Tuesday, January 19, 1999

  Mr. LANTOS. Mr. Speaker, I invite my colleagues to join me today in 
paying tribute to one of the most remarkable legislators in the history 
of the great golden State of California--the Honorable Quentin L. Kopp.
  An independent by political affiliation and by personal nature, 
Quentin Kopp is a San Francisco institution. His 27 years in public 
office began with his service as a member of the San Francisco Board of 
Supervisors. He has served on virtually every local government policy-
making body in the Bay Area, in addition to his accomplished career as 
a practicing trial lawyer. Quentin's record includes a herculean effort 
to bring the 1985 Superbowl and the summer Olympic Games to our area. 
He continued his distinguished public service as a member of the 
California State Senate, where his prodigious 12-year tenure was only 
curtailed this past year by voter-mandated term limits.
  A fiscal conservative, Quentin guards the public purse as zealously 
as he guards his own. He is a public reformer who has insisted upon 
open government, campaigns that fully disclose contributions, and the 
elimination of conflicts of interest. Furthermore, he possesses a 
vocabulary that dwarfs Noah Webster's and a rhetorical style that rival 
Daniel Webster's. He is rightly renowned for his ability to 
simultaneously please, baffle, inspire, and incite his loyal 
constituency.
  Mr. Speaker, as Chairman of the State Senate Committee on 
Transportation, Quentin Kopp has amassed an enviable legislative 
record: creation of the California High Speed Rail Authority, 
development of the 1989 Transportation Blueprint for the 21st Century, 
coordination of public transit agencies in the San Francisco Bay Area, 
and securing funding for the seismic retrofitting of the Bay Area's 
bridges. Senator Kopp's longtime and articulate advocacy of the 
extension of the Bay Area Rapid Transit system to San Francisco 
International Airport--a critical issue which has involved many of our 
colleagues in this House--has been vital in assuring Bay Area residents 
their desire to have Bart to the Airport!
  Quentin Kopp's imposing height, unforgettable visage, and booming 
voice, infused with tones of his native Syracuse, New York, heralds his 
legendary tardy public appearances. But all of us have found that it is 
worth the wait to hear Quentin's views on public issues. He has an 
innate understanding of Abraham Lincoln's caution that ``you cannot 
please all of the people all of the time,'' and this has produced in 
him the predilection for honest and unedited dialogue which is so 
appreciated by his constituents.
  Mr. Speaker, the legislative branch's loss is the judicial branch's 
gain. Senator Quentin Kopp is now addressed as the Honorable Quentin 
Kopp, Judge of the Superior Court of San Mateo County, a position to 
which he was appointed on January 2 of this year. Quentin does not need 
the judicial robe to augment his commanding, magisterial presence, but 
all of us in San Mateo County will benefit from his willingness to 
exercise wit and wisdom in his new post.
  It is my sincere wish, Mr. Speaker, that Judge Kopp will find 
intellectual satisfaction, professional fulfillment and personal 
happiness in this new opportunity to continue his public service.

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