[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 163 (2017), Part 14]
[Senate]
[Page 19541]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                       TRIBUTE TO PAUL J. TAVARES

 Mr. WHITEHOUSE. Mr. President, today I pay tribute to a great 
friend and Rhode Islander, former general treasurer Paul J. Tavares. 
Paul and I ran for statewide office together in 1998. Fortunately, both 
of us won. Paul's campaign motto was ``No tricks, no gimmicks, just a 
Treasurer who will do what is right.'' Paul had been a great State 
senator, and Rhode Islanders believed him--and he justified their 
faith.
  Paul chalked up a strong record of accomplishment in the treasurer's 
office. Among his most notable achievements was the CollegeBoundfund, 
Rhode Island's 529 college savings program, one of the strongest such 
programs in the Nation. We worked together on reforming a broken crime 
victims' fund. When he retired after two terms, Paul had kept his 
promise as treasurer to leave the office in better shape than he found 
it.
  In 2012, the Providence Housing Authority was in disarray and plagued 
by scandals. Providence's mayor, Angel Taveras, asked Paul to take over 
as interim executive director and clean up the mess. Paul promised he 
would. He quickly turned the agency around and ran it so well that city 
and housing authority officials convinced him to stay on. Paul recently 
told his colleagues in city government that it was time for him to go, 
and he will retire at the end of this year.
  In his public life, Paul has been appointed to the East Providence 
School Committee; elected to the East Providence City Council, the 
Rhode Island Senate, and the office of the general treasurer; and 
appointed executive director of the East Providence and Providence 
housing authorities. In addition, Paul has given himself tirelessly to 
fraternal and charitable service in Rhode Island and is a loving father 
and husband. Someone once said there are three kinds of people in this 
world: those who make things happen, those who watch things happen, and 
those who wonder what happened. Paul made things happen, and his 
generosity and selflessness improved the lives of many Rhode Islanders.
  As Paul retires from public service--once again--I thank him for 
being part of my life and for doing so much for our Ocean State. Paul 
fulfilled his pledge: There were no tricks, no gimmicks; just a public 
servant who did what was right. More importantly, Paul lives his life 
the same way: no tricks, no gimmicks, just a man who does what is 
right. He never took himself too seriously, never let positions of 
power go to his head, and never forgot where he came from. He is an 
example to me of doing it right.
  Rhode Island is fortunate to have devoted, energetic, and generous 
citizens like Paul Tavares. Godspeed, my friend.

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