Political Quotes

“I rise to honor the career of an indispensable member of my staff, Elizabeth Thames. Beth has been with my office for over 20 years--all 12 years in the Senate and about a decade in the House before that. Now, after serving the people of Ohio for these 20-plus years, Beth retires at the end of the year. She joined our office after working as an editor at the Elyria Chronicle-Telegram. Far from being the enemy of the people, Beth knew what journalism was, knew how important it is, and knew to tell stories to help people, to afflict the comfortable, and to comfort the afflicted. Beth brought that same spirit to our office. She helped our office to connect with the community in Northeast Ohio and around the State. She writes down the name of every single Ohioan we meet together so we can better serve them. Her work has had an amazing impact on the people of Ohio. At meetings, at roundtables, and at community events, she listens and she learns about problems. She understands what Lincoln was talking about when he said: Go out and get your public opinion. She listens to people who don't often get listened to, and she is a voice for people whose voices are often not heard. In 2012 and 2013, she began hearing more and more about infant mortality--a huge problem in our State, particularly for African- American babies. Frankly, State government didn't seem to give a damn. Constituents would bring up this issue over and over, but no one was doing anything about it.…”