Projo 7 to 7 News Blog

By John Mulligan
Journal Washington Bureau

Tributes have continued to pour in for the late Sen. Claiborne Pell, who died on Jan 1.
One noteworthy encomium this week came from a long-ago protégé, newly sworn in as a member of the 111th Congress. Rep. Gerald E. Connolly, Democrat of Virginia, recalled in a House floor speech his years working under Pell as a staffer on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.

Connolly, who has served for several years as chairman of the Fairfax County legislature, recounted some of the familiar facts of Pell's public service -- and added some little-known quirks, as well as a personal note.

``Senator Pell came from a political family that had five members serve in the House or Senate, including his great-great-granduncle George M. Dallas, who was a senator from Pennsylvania in the 1830s and vice president under President James K. Polk in the 1840s,'' Connolly said in his speech. ``Sen. Pell's version of his family genealogy insisted that Dallas, Texas, was named for his distinguished forebear.''

Connolly added, ``I had the great privilege of working with Sen. Pell during his tenure as Chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, where I served on the Committee staff. Sen. Pell was a gracious and thoughtful man. He met with any and all constituents who requested a meeting, and he did so always on time.''

 Tags  Claiborne Pell

Leave a comment

Please be civil. Vicious comments, personal attacks and profanity won't be published. Name and email are required; email address will not publish.

Name:

Email:

URL:  

Remember personal info?

Captcha:

Type the characters you see in the picture above.