[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 147 (2001), Part 19]
[Senate]
[Page 26677]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]



                         HONORING JOHN O'CONNOR

   Mr. KERRY. Mr. President, all of us in Massachusetts 
continue to mourn the loss of one of our State's most passionate, 
committed, and effective activists, John O'Connor, who died on Friday, 
December 7. John brought an enthusiasm and commitment to civic life 
that inspired everyone around him. His legendary appetite for life was 
bound by a steady moral compass, one that envisioned a world where 
water, air and land are free of pollution and every individual, from 
all walks of life, has access to the full measure of the American 
Dream.
  After John disclosed the fact that a small baseball field in his 
neighborhood of Stratford, CT, was actually built on the waste site of 
asbestos manufacturer Raybestos, he embarked on a journey that spanned 
from the fight to clean up sites like it all across the country to 
advocating for universal health care. That early spark of environmental 
awareness proved to be a model for all the struggles he engaged in 
throughout his life. As a young graduate of Clark University, he 
organized the poor neighborhoods of Worcester so that they could have a 
stronger voice in their community's policies, and joined up with 
Massachusetts Fair Share, a grassroots group that was pursuing the same 
goal statewide. His humor and enthusiasm gained traction in the group's 
newsletter, The Squeaky Wheel, as well as the street organizing and 
guerilla theater strategy that helped illuminate the organization and 
its mission.
  These community and State-wide efforts led to larger pursuits on the 
national stage. One of John's crowning achievements, one that will 
reach generations into the future, was his work on the National Toxics 
Campaign. This watershed moment in the environmental movement resulted 
in the $8 billion Superfund legislation that turned the tide in 
cleaning up industrial waste sites, and it echoed back to the ballfield 
that ushered John into the activism that defined his life. His campaign 
for environmental protection inspired him to write two books, ``Getting 
the Lead Out,'' and ``Who Owns The Sun,'' both of which elevated the 
dialogue surrounding the environmental issues that impact communities 
across the country. Throughout all of this he realized the potent force 
the market could be in the struggle to protect the environment, and 
towards that end he founded Greenworks in 1991, which provided 
financial backing for fledgling environmental businesses.
  John's national focus never took his attention far away from the 
communities he came to love. Along with his wife, Carolyn Mugar, he 
reached out to countless organizations in Watertown, Cambridge and 
Greater Boston, nourishing them with resources and copious amounts of 
his own time and energy. He served on boards and fund-raising 
committees for shelters, after-school programs and local youth 
programs, and was a fixture at City Year events. He helped start the 
Irish Famine Memorial Committee, which honored the victims of the Irish 
famine with a statue in Cambridge Common that was unveiled by former 
President of Ireland Mary Robinson. This work, as well as his 
commitment to other organizations like the Irish Immigration Center, 
reflected a deep love of his own history, but for John it was larger 
than an effort just for the Irish. His commitment to immigrant advocacy 
evidenced a deep belief in this country's ability to improve and re-
create itself through the welcoming of people from all over the world.
  Nothing carries more grief than the loss of a young man of such 
talent, full of life, brimming with the truly American notion that 
everyone can and must improve life for themselves and their community. 
Surely John O'Connor accomplished this and more--and that legacy, the 
fact that he filled 46 years with more than many achieve in many 
lifetimes will, I hope, make his family's sorrow today a little lighter 
and leave them knowing that his work lives on in the countless acts of 
goodwill John performed before he was taken from us.
  Even though John was taken from us long before nature intended, I 
think an activist of his deep commitment would know that he leaves us 
with more than just his record of good work--he leaves us with a 
challenge, one that was presented to us over the course of his 46 
years. John's challenge to all of us is to expand our world and expand 
the circle of people we care for and love. The compass that pointed him 
in the direction of taking on polluters and fighting for access to 
health care is with us still, pointing to the world he envisioned and 
began to realize through his work. Our mission now is to follow that 
compass, take up those battles, and complete the work that John 
challenged us with in his life and inspires us with in his death. We 
are better people for his time here, but, as he surely would remind us, 
there is much work to be done. Now, we will set about doing it with 
John O'Connor as guide and inspiration.

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