[Congressional Record Volume 148, Number 56 (Tuesday, May 7, 2002)]
[Senate]
[Pages S3949-S3950]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




   RECOGNITION OF MAYOR TOM MENINO'S ACCOMPLISHMENT TO LEAD THE U.S. 
                          CONFERENCE OF MAYORS

 Mr. KERRY. Madam President, I am proud to join in celebrating 
an extraordinary milestone for my friend, Mayor

[[Page S3950]]

Tom Menino, an honor shared by all the people of Boston who have 
benefitted from Tom's remarkable leadership in our city. A reflection 
of all that he has accomplished and continues to achieve, Mayor Tom 
Menino ascends to the position of President of the U.S. Conference of 
Mayors. I am proud to join his family, staff and colleagues across the 
country in congratulating him as he embarks on this new challenge.
  Since his election as Mayor in 1993, Tom Menino has been tireless in 
his efforts to make the nation's greatest city even stronger. As he 
begins his term as President of the Conference, mayors from across the 
country will find in Tom a friend and a national trail blazer as the 
chief spokesperson and leader of their efforts.
  Tom Menino's record of achievement already serves as a blueprint for 
our nation's cities; in 2001 he was recognized by Governing Magazine as 
``Public Official of the Year,'' dubbing him the ``Main Streets 
Maestro.'' Mayors from cities from Houston, Detroit to Philadelphia 
have come to Boston to study Tom's approach to governing, and each has 
returned to their own city and implemented a piece of Boston's success 
story. After a recent Boston visit, Mayor O'Malley returned to 
Baltimore to open an Office of Neighborhoods, borrowing a page from the 
Menino play book.
  But it is in the neighborhoods of Boston where the results of his 
hands-on management style are most visible. In places like Grove Hall 
and Jackson Square, new businesses are starting up, community 
development corporations are working hand-in-hand with the Mayor to 
jump start new developments and rehabilitate old buildings, and small, 
locally-owned businesses are flourishing in all corners of the city.
  But do not take my word for it, just look at the statistics: Crime 
rates are dramatically lower than 10 years ago; the public school drop-
out rate has been cut in half during Tom's time in office; and almost 
70 percent of Boston's high school graduates continue on to college. 
Mayor Menino's work on behalf of the children of Boston reflects a long 
term commitment that reaches far into the future: He has almost doubled 
the number of immunized children; launched a youth literacy campaign 
that has been replicated in over 100 other U.S. cities; and Tom Menino 
is the first mayor of a major city to completely wire the school system 
to the Internet. Mayor Menino has partnered with the Ten Point 
Coalition and other violence prevention groups to create successful 
programs like Operation Ceasefire and ``2 to 6'', that target the 
city's at risk youth with activities and structure during those crucial 
after school hours.
  I am proud to stand shoulder-to-shoulder with Tom Menino as we move 
ahead and continue our work together on improving public schools, 
increasing the availability of affordable housing and making our 
streets as safe as they can be. He is a dedicated and talented public 
servant, one whom I am fortunate to call a colleague and friend, and I 
join the whole Massachusetts delegation and mayors across the State in 
congratulating him on his Presidency of the U.S. Conference of 
Mayors.

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