Political Quotes

“Mr. President, fifty years ago, when Bob Butler was sworn in as mayor of Marion, IL, the town was literally on fire. Just outside city hall, one of the largest fires in the city's history was raging. It may not have been, as Mayor Butler has described it, an ``auspicious'' start I will go a little farther and call it what it was: a baptism by fire. But through his five decades of thoughtful leadership, he has always been devoted to the city he loves and has never stopped working to improve the lives of its residents. During his time as mayor, the local population has increased, area businesses have grown, and the economy has expanded. And along the way, some have reported, Bob Butler became the longest- serving currently active mayor in America. After first being elected, a fire wasn't the only problem he had to deal with he also had to dig the city out of financial trouble. Under Mayor Butler's guidance, Marion got itself back in the black and began building a platform to allow for future growth. And then, a few years later, another disaster hit. A tornado tore through the city, killing 10 and injuring hundreds including the Mayor and leaving tens of millions of dollars of damage. After crawling out of his car, which had been thrown 300 feet and turned upside down, Mayor Butler showed the sort of resilience we don't see much anymore and dove headfirst into recovery efforts.…”