[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 151 (2005), Part 20]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages 27213-27214]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




      HONORING RETIRING ERIE COUNTY LEGISLATOR ALBERT DeBENEDETTI

                                 ______
                                 

                           HON. BRIAN HIGGINS

                              of new york

                    in the house of representatives

                      Thursday, November 17, 2005

  Mr. HIGGINS. Mr. Speaker, today I rise to honor a friend and fellow 
public official whose unique and energetic service to the residents of 
Erie County will long be remembered. I rise to commemorate and honor 
the service of Erie County Legislator Albert DeBenedetti.
  Serving as a legislator since his initial appointment in 1991, Al 
DeBenedetti brought a quick wit and a keen intellect to the 
deliberations of the Erie County Legislature. Often contentious and 
pugnacious, few Erie County Legislators in history have cared more for 
the communities they represent, and about the actions of government in 
service to those people than has Al DeBenedetti.
  Now, I tell you Mr. Speaker, Al is a unique individual indeed. Al 
comes from proud and deeply rooted Italian and Polish stock, and his 
father was a renowned professional wrestler. One thing is certain--it 
is a good thing for his opponents that Al's weapon of choice was his 
mind and not his fists, because Al always fought, and fought hard, for 
the people he represented in Buffalo's Black Rock, Riverside and west 
side neighborhoods.
  Prior to his service in the Erie County Legislature's 6th District, 
Al was Assistant Deputy Commissioner to the Erie County Board of 
Elections and also served on the Administrative Staff of former Erie 
County Executive Dennis Gorski. Upon the election of then-Legislator 
David Manz to Buffalo City Court in 1991, Al took office as his 
successor, and has served in this capacity ever since.
  Al rose quickly through the Legislature's ranks. In only his third 
term of office, Al was elected Majority Leader and was appointed 
Chairman of the Legislature's Finance and Management Committee. In that 
capacity, Al worked with legislators and with then-County Executive 
Dennis Gorski to steer a clean and effective financial ship for Erie 
County.
  In 2002, Al was elected Chairman of the Erie County Legislature, a 
position he held for one year. During his Chairmanship, the Legislature 
began the process of moving its offices from the Erie County Hall Annex 
back to its original home in Old County Hall, the historical

[[Page 27214]]

site where United States President Grover Cleveland once held court as 
Mayor of Buffalo.
  Al DeBenedetti rarely saw an election day without a vigorous fight, 
but was always successful. I have always chalked that success up to his 
personality and his unwillingness to give up on a fight. I had a 
nickname for Al--I always called him ``Alley Cat.'' I think I did this 
because Al was always a scrapper, and invariably, his fight was an 
independent one, and was conducted on the behalf of Erie County's 
taxpayers.
  Mr. Speaker, I am grateful to you for allowing me an opportunity to 
commemorate the service of my friend and colleague, Erie County 
Legislator Al DeBenedetti, on the occasion of his retirement as a 
member of the Erie County Legislature. Al's service on the Legislature 
was honorable and unique, and his history as a member of this august 
body will carry on for many years to come.

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