PG

Ohio lost a good man today when Congressman Paul Gillmor passed away.

You hear these tributes from politicians when other politicians die, and you sometimes roll your eyes as they lay it on a little too thick. But folks seem to be getting it right when they talk about Mr. Gillmor: he was indeed not a bomb-thrower or a partisan. He was a good Republican and a leader of the party, but he had no qualms about reaching across the aisle to get things done. I don’t think he had an enemy in the Congress.

He was my congressman back home and I was proud to cast votes for him. Somewhere along the line, I got a picture taken with him on the Capitol steps–something he was kind enough to do for a pseudo-constituent. During at least the last part of his service in the Ohio Senate, he was our senator–I know he got solid support from our region when he ran for governor in 1986. So he was very much a known quantity–and an admired legislator–when the county was added to his congressional district for the 2002 election. And even as large as his district is, he made time to come by for big events and small.

I have many friends on staff over in his office; in Congress, we tend to “initialize” when talking about our bosses, so they called him “PG.” My old boss and countless others called him “Gillmo’.” One of the Capitol Hill publications called him a “workhorse”–something that his supporters made known far and wide during his last campaign. “Workhorse” was probably the most fitting moniker: his staff got worried when he didn’t show up on time for meetings this morning–because he always showed up on time for meetings.

I know how shocked I was just to get word this morning; I can only imagine how it must have been for his staff to learn this tragic news. My thoughts are with all of them, with his friends, and especially his family.