Norton on the Passing of Congresswoman Stephanie Tubbs Jones (8/21/08)

Norton on the Passing of Congresswoman Stephanie Tubbs Jones

August 21, 2008

Washington, D.C. - Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC) issued the following statement on the passing of her friend Congresswoman Stephanie Tubbs Jones.

Stephanie's death leaves a hole in my heart and a vacuum in the Congress. Her fearless self-confidence was mediated by generosity that knew no bounds. That self-confidence and Stephanie's unfailing collegiality, character, judgment and her nimble mind led House Speaker Nancy Pelosi to appoint her to the most difficult post in the Congress - chair of the committee that judges her colleagues, the Ethics Committee.

Most of all, though I have lost a friendship formed almost instantly when Stephanie came to the House in 1998. I have lost a colleague whose second nature was to reach out to work with her colleagues - with me, most recently on issues involving the Equal Opportunity Employment Commission that I chaired when Stephanie was a lawyer there. And I have lost a worthy adversary in the recent primary - Stephanie for Hillary vs. me for Barack, yet Stephanie's innate competitiveness never forfeited her fairness in debate.

The people of Ohio and the United States have lost an unmatchable public servant, who managed to blend compassion with resolve in the public interest. Stephanie's family, who enjoyed a lifetime of Stephanie's upbeat even effervescent approach to life has lost an irreplaceable spirit. My deepest sympathy and thoughts are with Stephanie's family, especially her son Merwyn Leroy Jones II, whom she texted continually and loved dearly.