Political Quotes

“Mr. President, earlier this month, I, my staff, and the entire State of Michigan lost someone very special. Cassandra Woods, my longtime State staff director, passed away after fighting cancer for two decades. Cassandra Woods was one of the most extraordinary people I have ever known. She became the heart and soul of my Michigan offices. After beginning as an intern more than 30 years ago, she served as my State director for the last 12. She led a staff of 25 in 7 offices around the State into becoming a cohesive team serving the public. In countless efforts to bring growth and hope to our people, she pressed forward and never wavered--from riverfront projects, to M-1 Rail on Woodward Avenue, to Focus:HOPE, to our effort to bring a baseball academy for kids adjacent to the old Tiger Stadium field, and oh so much more in so many places around our state. She was an invaluable source of advice and counsel to me and to my Washington staff. She represented me at public events and in meetings with State and local officials. All the while, she kept adding her energy and her way of looking at life to her own personal missions. Cassandra brought to her family and to our community her unique combination of great inner strength and an outward gentleness, an iron will with a smiling demeanor, a way of being direct and blunt in an engaging and positive way, imparting tough love and discipline with compassion and almost always with that wonderful laugh of hers.…”