[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 146 (2000), Part 13]
[Senate]
[Page 18422]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]


[[Page 18422]]

             FORMER SAN FRANCISCO MAYOR GEORGE CHRISTOPHER

 Mrs. BOXER. Mr. President, it is with sadness that I rise to 
inform my colleagues of the death of former San Francisco Mayor George 
Christopher,


who passed away on September 14th at the age of 92. I express my 
deepest condolences to Mayor Christopher's family and to his countless 
friends.
  The city has lost an extraordinary civic leader--one whose grand 
vision and passion for helping people are vividly remembered by all who 
knew him.
  Although many residents were not yet born during George Christopher's 
two terms as mayor from 1956 to 1964, the citizens of San Francisco 
still benefit today from his dynamic and no nonsense leadership. People 
like to say that San Francisco grew up during his tenure, that he made 
it a big league city. Indeed, it was George Christopher who brought the 
then New York Giants to town.
  Mayor Christopher changed the way San Francisco looked and the way 
its citizens looked at themselves. He transformed the City's skyline, 
built the Japan Center and Candlestick Park, and he modernized 
downtown. He built San Francisco into a cosmopolitan, world-class city.
  The child of Greek immigrants, as mayor he ushered in an era of 
stronger civil rights consciousness and was a particular hero to San 
Francisco's Greek community. He was a man of international stature who 
never lost his close connection to everyday people. Mayor Christopher's 
life was dedicated to public service, and the San Francisco of today is 
in many ways a living testament to his achievements both in and out of 
office.
  George Christopher was an exceptional leader who will be greatly 
missed.

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