[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 157 (2011), Part 6]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages 7647-7648]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




  HONORING MAYOR JOHN DeSTEFANO, JR., 2011 RECIPIENT OF THE TORCH OF 
                             LIBERTY AWARD

                                 ______
                                 

                          HON. ROSA L. DeLAURO

                             of connecticut

                    in the house of representatives

                          Monday, May 23, 2011

  Ms. DeLAURO. Mr. Speaker, it is with great pleasure that I rise today 
to join the Anti-Defamation League and the New Haven community in 
paying tribute to the outstanding work of this year's Torch of Liberty 
Award recipient, the Honorable John DeStefano, Jr., Mayor of New Haven, 
Connecticut. In the seventeen years since he was first sworn into 
office, Mayor DeStefano has worked tirelessly to improve our community 
and the quality of life for residents. It is that extraordinary spirit 
of public service that is honored with this prestigious tribute.
  Our communities would not be the same without the efforts of 
individuals whose work truly benefits our families and neighborhoods. 
Each year, the Connecticut Anti-Defamation League presents the Torch of 
Liberty Award to an outstanding leader in the community, recognizing 
their unique commitment and dedication. Mayor DeStefano and his efforts 
to enrich the city of New Haven are a remarkable reflection of the true 
spirit of community service.

[[Page 7648]]

  When Mayor DeStefano took office in 1994, the city of New Haven was 
facing challenges on multiple fronts. The crime rate had risen, the 
downtown business district was being eclipsed by the modern 
conveniences of mall shopping, the schools were in desperate need of 
modernization, and the individual neighborhoods had suffered the 
consequences of suburban expansion. It was no small task to turn the 
city's reputation around and regain the promise and prosperity it had 
once held. Mayor DeStefano approached all of these issues with both 
enthusiasm and purpose.
  During the Mayor's tenure, virtually every public school has been 
rebuilt under the Citywide School Construction Plan. Some of the key 
features of this program have supported universal pre-kindergarten, the 
largest inter-district enrollment and magnet school program in 
Connecticut, and college level lab and technology features. Mayor 
DeStefano brought the New Haven public school system into the modem era 
and has gone a long way in providing New Haven teachers and students 
with the technology and tools that they need to achieve academic 
success.
  The Mayor focused his attention on rebuilding the relationships 
between the city and Yale University as well as the hospital and 
medical communities. By strengthening these partnerships and building 
on its successes, New Haven has emerged as a national center of life 
and bio science businesses and the city center has undergone a dramatic 
transformation into a mixed use community. The Mayor also worked to 
strengthen neighborhoods through managing housing stock to mixed income 
and use models, promoting commercial corridors as well as implementing 
street smart infrastructure and public improvements. In addition, the 
Mayor worked with local law enforcement on a new model of community 
policing which decentralized police management districts which has 
effectively transformed public safety in the community. With all of 
these efforts, it is no wonder that under Mayor DeStefano's tenure, New 
Haven has been recognized by the National Civic League as an ``All 
America City'' three times.
  A lifelong resident of the city of New Haven, Mayor John DeStefano, 
Jr. has dedicated innumerable hours to finding solutions to our city's 
challenges and to improving the quality of life for all New Haven 
residents. His work and public service is a reflection of what the 
Torch of Liberty Award stands for and I am proud to join all of those 
gathered this evening in congratulating him on this very special honor. 
I am pleased to have this opportunity to wish him, his wife Kathy, and 
their two sons, Dan and Jim, all the best for many more years of 
health, happiness and success.

                          ____________________