Lugar Remembered For Lasting Legacy
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As a subscriber you can listen to articles at work, in the car, or while you work out. Subscribe NowState and local officials Monday gathered in downtown Indianapolis to celebrate the life of former Senator and Indianapolis Mayor Richard Lugar. At the Richard G. Lugar Plaza outside the City-County Building, Governor Eric Holcomb and current Mayor Joe Hogsett joined leaders from the City-County Council and other dignitaries including former mayor Bart Peterson to talk about the legacy of the Indiana’s longest-serving member of Congress.
Several former Lugar staff members also attended the ceremony, including Nick Weber, who served as former press secretary, Indiana secretary and 2006 campaign manager for Lugar. He told Inside INdiana Business Reporter Mary-Rachel Redman what people in public service around the country could learn from Lugar.
"That decency works, that honesty works, that hard work is rewarded, that you can go about the work of governance and not have to make it a blood sport, not have to make it a winner-take-all environment, that the right way to do things is also the appropriate way to do things," said Weber. "I think that he really tried to strive to live that way and to show us all that that is the way that we can conduct ourselves in our daily lives."
Watch the full celebration, courtesy of our partners at WTHR-TV, by clicking here.
Hogsett said Lugar changed the face of the city of Indianapolis and "embodied the heart of our nation."
"One of the greatest honors of my time as mayor has been ensuring that this plaza behind us, a place that welcomes all, will forever bear the name of a leader who promoted that very same attitude toward the great policy debates of his age," said Hogsett. "Senator Lugar believed that it was only by uniting to solve tough issues, divided perhaps in thought, but united in a common purpose for a common effort. That, to Senator Lugar, would move our country forward."
Holcomb said the amount of time Lugar served in the U.S. Senate would be amazing in any state.
"You’d be hard pressed to say that there was any greater political leader in Indiana history. On top of his mayoral achievements, six times elected to the United States Senate, double the nearest competitor in Indiana. And 36 years of national service packed with remarkable accomplishments, passing laws and yes indeed, changing the world."
Weber said Indianapolis has a huge legacy that is owed to Lugar. He added Lugar’s time in the Senate has "set the mark for what good senatorial work looks like."
(Pictured left to right) Governor Eric Holcomb, Indianapolis Mayor Joe Hogsett, Indianapolis City-County Council President Vop Osili and Council Minority Leader Mike McQuillen.