Christopher Shays: “Jim Kennelly was the best speaker that I have ever seen in my life in the 20 years I have been a member of the State…”

“Jim Kennelly was the best speaker that I have ever seen in my life in the 20 years I have been a member of the State house and Congress. He was someone who believed so passionately in the institution and his responsibilities of guiding the chamber that he was quite willing to make a ruling that may not have been what he wanted to make, and may have caused tremendous problems for the operation. But he would, on occasion, agree that the minority's point was well taken, and in spite of the pressure that he might have gotten from a whole host of different people and in spite of the pressure he might have felt for himself to move business along, he was willing to concede that the process was so important that he would adjust his timetable and his schedule and accept the ruling that was in fact against his own wishes. He was extraordinarily kind. He was as intelligent as I have ever known anyone to be. He was a leader in terms of our constitutional convention when we established our new Constitution for the State of Connecticut. He was a man you could go to and always know you were going to get a straight and direct answer and know that it came with a great deal of thought and energy. He was a wonderful man. He enriched my life. I used him as a model. I am not saying that I followed him. The gentleman would probably say I did not follow him well at all, but I certainly knew what an ideal legislator was like, and he was it.”