[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 155 (2009), Part 1] [Senate] [Pages 662-663] [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]TRIBUTE TO TOM WATSON Mr. McCONNELL. Mr. President, I rise today to honor a well-respected Kentuckian, Mr. Tom Watson. Throughout his life, Mr. Watson has contributed immensely to Owensboro and to the Commonwealth. Recently the Messenger-Inquirer in Owensboro, KY., published a story about Tom and his work as mayor of Owensboro. Throughout his career as a public servant, Tom has worked hard to give back to the community that he loves so dearly. I have worked closely with Tom over my career and have seen firsthand his dedication to the people of Owensboro. I ask my colleagues to join me in honoring Mayor Watson and wish him the very best as he embarks on new challenges. I further ask unanimous consent that the full article be printed in the Record. There being no objection, the material was ordered to be printed in the Record, as follows: [From the Owensboro Messenger-Inquirer, Dec. 19, 2008] Watson Bids Farewell (By Owen Covington) Owensboro Mayor Tom Watson closed out his term Thursday night in the lobby of the RiverPark Center, just yards away from where work has begun on a $37 million river wall for which he helped secure funding. The farewell reception attended by dozens of friends, families and colleagues was just two blocks away from The Commerce Center, a ``one-stop-shop'' for business and economic development that became a reality at Watson's urging. ``I, for one, look forward to what he'll do next,'' City Commissioner David Johnson told the crowd. ``Everything he does is special, and he does it well and he does it with a passion.'' This week, Watson talked with the Messenger-Inquirer about his four years in office and said he had no regrets about his decision to leave city government. ``I'm just happy I had a chance to serve, and I'm humbled that I made it through four years,'' Watson said. Unified Government Watson jumped in the mayoral race in 2004 as a former chairman of the Greater Owensboro Chamber of Commerce who had built a successful prosthetics and orthotics business with offices in Owensboro and Evansville. Central to Watson's campaign was a drive for unified government, a push to bring city and county government under one entity to ``speak with one voice.'' That push took Watson to Frankfort in 2006 when he helped lobby support for a bill that would put cities and county on a more even footing as they looked at unified government. That bill became law, and Watson and the commission adopted an ordinance in early 2007 to create a commission to study merger, but inaction by Daviess Fiscal Court meant Watson's merger push went no further. ``I feel good we tried, but it didn't work out,'' Watson said. ``It was something you've got to try to do.'' Greater Owensboro Chamber of Commerce President Jody Wassmer said Watson's election in 2004 is evidence that the issue is one that will not go away. ``I think we've been able to move some things to the forefront that will pay off in future administrations,'' Wassmer said. ``I think Tom will probably be known as the man that brought government merger back to the forefront.'' At Thursday night's reception, Watson was made an honorary judge-executive by Daviess County Judge-Executive Reid Haire, with Haire noting with a smile that the title was probably something the mayor had ``lusted for'' in the past. ``We have worked well together,'' Haire told Watson. State, federal attention As mayor, Watson was able to use his connections with state and federal elected officials to help bring the community notice when in the past it had been overlooked. ``I think one of his greatest strengths was the relationships that he developed with state and federal officials, and those efforts brought Owensboro an unprecedented amount of state and federal funding,'' said former City Manager Bob Whitmer, who served for three of Watson's four years. U.S. Sen. Mitch McConnell said during a phone interview Thursday that Watson is responsible for making him realize how important riverfront development was to the community. ``He had a lot to do in getting me even more interested and enthusiastic about the future of the Owensboro riverfront,'' McConnell said. ``Tom deserves a lot of credit for pushing that project, believing it was important and believing it would transform the city.'' Economic development Just months after taking office, Watson along with Haire unveiled a ``white paper'' that presented a plan with a broader look at economic development efforts and resulted in a more coordinated effort by the community. The paper also led to the creation of the separate Greater Owensboro Economic Development Corp. and The Commerce Center, which is now home to EDC, the chamber, the office of Downtown Development Director Fred Reeves and the Owensboro Metropolitan Planning Commission. ``I certainly think he and the judge presented and articulated a vision about how they wanted economic development to be a little more streamlined,'' said Nick Brake, EDC president and CEO. ``He had some real strong ideas about doing some things much differently than what we've done in the past.'' Thursday night, EDC board chairman Darrell Higginbotham presented Watson with a framed copy of the cover of the ``white paper'' and said a duplicate will be hung in the EDC's offices. ``Your vision for The Commerce Center is a reality today,'' Higginbotham told the mayor. ``Man of great energy'' Commissioner Al Mattingly Jr. noted Thursday night that he got to know Watson as the two squared off in the mayoral election in 2004 and has seen the sacrifices that Watson has made as mayor. ``I know of no other man in the city of Owensboro that is as compassionate, is as caring or has as much empathy for others as Tom Watson,'' Mattingly said. ``I think those are real traits in a leader.'' Watson's term wasn't without its controversies, and his effort to seek state approval and funding for a joint partnership between the city and development firm Gulfstream Enterprises Inc. opened up a rift in the community. The city was hoping its partnership with Gulfstream for the proposed Gateway Commons development on Kentucky 54 would allow it to receive millions of dollars in tax increment financing. Some viewed the push as an abandonment of efforts to develop downtown, while others saw the project as the only way to get state funding for a new mixed-use events center. The proposal prompted a lawsuit against the city and failed to pass muster with the [[Page 663]] state, but it was followed by the community backing the creation of a downtown master plan. ``You always knew where he stood,'' said City Manager Bill Parrish. ``I've seen him as a man of great energy where you know where he comes from and he wants to get things moving. He is a man of unbounded enthusiasm.'' Though not able to attend Thursday night, Commissioner Cathy Armour sent her thoughts about the mayor in a letter read by Mattingly, and wished him luck and now more time to enjoy his grandchildren. Commissioner Candance Castlen Brake announced Thursday night that the city staff and the commission would be making a donation in Watson's name to the Daniel Pitino Shelter, an organization that he has personally supported in the past and urged the city to commit money to. Watson counts the proclamations he has announced and the recognitions he has handed out as some of his fondest moments, which also include visits to classrooms to talk about city government and work to help open the Department of Veterans Affairs clinic in the city. ``Really it hasn't been a job,'' Watson said Thursday night. ``It's been another opportunity in my life to participate in my community.'' When asked if he had any second thoughts about not seeking a second term, Watson explained that he is a ``front windshield'' kind of man. ``I don't like to look out the rearview mirror too much,'' Watson said. ``But you still have that piece of you that wants to see things completed that you started. . . . It's almost like a blur, really, it went by so fast.'' ____________________