Tim Kaine: “I rise, accompanied by an amazing public servant who is completing 29 years and 10 months of working in the U.S.…”

“I rise, accompanied by an amazing public servant who is completing 29 years and 10 months of working in the U.S. Senate--Mary Naylor, my legislative director. She is angry with me right now for tricking her into this and walking into the Chamber and seeing my whole staff, but I wanted to just say a word to honor her. When I came to the Senate--elected in 2012 and sworn in in January 2013--obviously, hiring a legislative director was a very, very important challenge that I was dealing with, and I had a number of people who wanted to do the job. There was a wonderful Senate staffer who was about to leave the Hill to see if there was life after the Senate. She wasn't sure whether there was but was really excited to see that. Yet, as tough a negotiator as she was, she let me persuade her to stay for one more term after she had wanted to leave to do other things. She did a remarkable job for me in my first term and has done a remarkable job now into my second term in the Senate. She has been my legislative director since my first day in the body, but as I pointed out, she is now nearly 30 years into serving this institution. Let me tell you some things about Mary. She is from Fargo, ND. She came to the Senate in 1989, which was right after she graduated with honors--Phi Beta Kappa--from Northwestern. She first became a legislative assistant for the late Senator Paul Simon in 1991.…”