Rae Oliver Davis: “The subject of our Special Order tonight is to remember a great man of this Chamber and a great Kentuckian and a great…”

“The subject of our Special Order tonight is to remember a great man of this Chamber and a great Kentuckian and a great person, a friend to virtually all who knew him. Mr. Speaker, I rise tonight to pay tribute to my friend and fellow Kentuckian, Congressman Gene Snyder. Born in Louisville, Gene Snyder began his political career in 1954 as a city attorney for Jeffersontown, Kentucky, at the age of 26. In 1962 he ran for Congress and was elected to represent the Third District of Kentucky. After losing his bid for reelection in 1964, he turned right around and ran again in 1966. This time, he was elected to the seat that I now hold from Kentucky's Fourth District. He went on to serve Kentucky and the Nation for another 20 years until his retirement in 1986, bringing a record of credit upon his office and doing great service to the people of Kentucky's Fourth District. Gene had a tireless work ethic, both in Washington and in Kentucky's Fourth District. He was a master political operator and strategist, and his dedication to the conservative cause was without equal in the 1960s and 1970s. He stood by Barry Goldwater for President and was swept out of office in the 1964 Johnson landslide, only to return 2 years later. I can personally relate to that and Gene's character and his persistence, having lost my first election and announcing on election night that I was running again and getting up the next morning and going to work for 2 more years to win and to make a difference.”