Political Quotes

“I want to thank my friend Rep. Lee and my other colleagues tonight who have gathered to pay tribute to our former colleague Rep. Ron Dellums, who passed away on July 30. I rise to join them in remembering Ron, who was my friend and with whom I served in this House for many years. Ron Dellums's entire career was spent in service--to his community, his city, and his country. As a U.S. Marine, he proudly wore the uniform of our nation at a time when the peace of the world was threatened by cold war. As a city councilman in Berkeley, he drew on his family history of labor activism to fight for better conditions for working families. As a Congressman, he led the fight for sanctions against apartheid South Africa and chaired the Armed Services Committee as our military challenges were changing from a Cold War to a post-Cold War environment. He was a founder of the Congressional Black Caucus, which today is the conscience of the Congress. Later, as Mayor of Oakland, Ron worked hard to make neighborhoods safer, improve local schools, and bring new infrastructure funding to the city. Ron fought with tenacity for the causes he believed in. One of those was human rights and the equal dignity of all people. When a presidential veto threatened to block his anti-apartheid legislation, he rallied support to override it.…”