Sam Farr: “I think we are recognizing today one of the finest people in public service in America in our time. I have known Vic for…”

“I think we are recognizing today one of the finest people in public service in America in our time. I have known Vic for 30 years. I came to Sacramento as a young, ex-Peace Corps volunteer looking for work and one of the first staff members I met was a consultant to the committee, Vic Fazio. Vic was a leader at that time. This is the activism of the 1960s. Vic was always concerned about how we can portray government in the best light, how can we get people to be participatory in this democracy. At the time he had come out of the Coro Foundation, very involved in this idea of internship and the ability to volunteer in learning how government works and how business works. He was instrumental in founding a magazine that could report about government, the California Journal. It is wonderful when you are a founder of a magazine that writes nice things about you. It describes Vic as one of the California delegation's most respected members. I think he is one of California's most respected politicians, because he is the role model for the youth that are around here today, of bright young kids that come into politics. He is the role model for elected officials, whether it is at the State level where he rose to leadership positions very rapidly, served in the legislature, and then came to Congress where he rose to leadership positions in this House. Vic is a natural-born leader.”