Political Quotes

“I rise today to pay a heartfelt tribute to my long-time director of communications, Tom Mentzer, who passed away after a lengthy battle with cancer. Tom was a larger than life personality and his loss is still felt deeply by myself and our entire office. Tom was born in Poulsbo, WA, but spent a large part of his youth in Germany in the cities of Kaiserslautern and Heidelberg. He was a graduate of Heidelberg American High School and went on to DePauw University, where he majored in political science and communications. Tom stayed in Indiana for his graduate work and completed his master's in journalism at Indiana University in 2001. He began his communications career in 1994 as a reporter for the Heidelberg Herald-Post. Upon completion of his masters, Tom began work with Scripps Howard News Service before joining the Urban Institute. In 2007, he was hired as a press secretary for Congressman Sam Farr. Tom joined my staff in 2010 as a press secretary, and 4 years later, he assumed the role of director of communications, which he maintained until his passing. Tom was among the best at his craft and he played a role in messaging nearly every piece of legislation from my office. I valued his wise counsel on many contentious issues, and he was by my side during the release of the torture report as well as multiple reelection campaigns, appropriations fights, and Supreme Court nominations.…”