Political Quotes

“Mr. President, I first saw Dianne--and I see people like the Speaker Emerita and so many of her friends and family that knew her long before Senator Padilla--but 1992, the Year of the Woman, the national convention--my first national convention, a young lawyer-- and there she was on the stage with Senator Boxer in that groundbreaking year. When I think of Dianne, as I have heard from my colleagues, I think about the dignity she brought to this place; about how she would dig into every single issue, the independent thought, the trailblazing. She came into politics as a mayor and in the most tragic of circumstances. She was a city council member. There was an assassination, and there she is thrust on the national stage. As Senator Padilla talked about, she always put California first. I remember, at one point when we were debating and speaking out on a national election and someone said something about another candidate having been the mayor of a tough town. I remember Dianne saying: You don't know what a tough town is until you are mayor of San Francisco. The way she would dig into the issues was probably my most memorable moment. She invited me to stay overnight at her house after an event; and I got up early in the morning and she called me, summoned me into her room.…”