Jackie Speier

Ms. SPEIER

Ms. SPEIER. Madam Speaker, I thank my constituents for the greatest opportunity of my life--to serve them.

Ms. SPEIER. Madam Speaker, this is my last speech on the House floor. I have given hundreds of speeches on this floor, but there will be no more. I am reminded of a quotation, each of us is called to do something, and if we don't do it, it won't get done. For almost 15 years now, I have had the privilege to be in this Chamber to do this work. Like many staffers who come to this great building, they seek to one day become Members of Congress, and I became one of those. I was legislative counsel to the late Congressman Leo Ryan, who was assassinated in Jonestown, Guyana, trying to extract constituents who had been held there against their will by a cult leader name Jim Jones. I am proud that, along with Congresswoman Gabby Giffords' name, Congressman Leo Ryan's name now appears above the Democratic cloakroom. I was shot five times on that airstrip and left to die, but obviously survived, and committed the rest of my life to public service. In fact, I have the record here in Congress of being the Member who had the longest stretch between the time they first ran for Congress, which was 29 years before I was elected the second time. What I know is this: We are specks in the timeline of history--few will remember us, but they will remember events. The corridor to the Members' dining room on the House side shows a mural of L'Enfant choosing the site for the U.S. Capitol, then President Washington is seen actually laying the cornerstone, and then in 1814 the British burning the Capitol, and then the Rotunda being used to house Union soldiers as a medical center. There is one more mural that has to be placed in that corridor. It is the mural of January 6. What will we do to prevent another one? That is the challenge to all of us. What will we do to lower the rhetorical temperature in this sanctuary of democracy? Will we ever end the blood sport that goes on in this Chamber? Above us on the ceiling is the eagle with the words e pluribus unum: Out of many, one. It is our duty to our constituents, not to our Facebook audience or Twitter followers. It is not our goal to increase our followers. It is our duty to increase the confidence of our constituents in democracy in getting things done. Madam Speaker, I hope the 118th Congress will do what I was not able to do in 10 years and get the ERA into the Constitution of the United States; it is 24 words. Every democracy in the world has an ERA in their constitution but the United States. I hope that we will restore the right to reproductive autonomy for every woman. I hope that we will do what we should do and pass an assault weapons ban. Surely, we can prohibit the purchase of these weapons of war by teenagers. We should make permanent the child tax credit; we lifted half of the children in this country out of poverty last year when we did that. We have got to do a better job of providing for our servicemen and servicewomen. Madam Speaker, I have had an extraordinary staff these almost 15 years. They make me sound smarter than I am, more articulate than I am. They work long hours to move legislation. They plan conferences in the district for senior citizens, job seekers, students, and all the many, many townhalls we have had. Madam Speaker, I include in the Record the names of former staff members. They are the sheroes and heroes of this institution. Former DC Staff Barron YoungSmith Benjamin Broadmeadow Chuck Jackson Christine Seibert Emily Small Felix Wu Gina Davenport Greg Roth Heather Melancon Ian Staples Jacquii Wang James Pollack Jason Hamm Jenny Werwa Josh Connolly Justin Vogt Kat Skyles Kate Brennan Kate Loomis Katherine Brandt Kenneth Dowling Lindsey Stein Luke Huisenga Mandy Smithberger Mia Mazer Michelle McGrain Mike Beard Miriam Goldstein Mitchel Hochberg Molly Fishman Nahmyo Thomas Nina Serianne Page Beavers Peter Viola Rachel Marshall Regi Sellote Ryan Galisewski Sera Alptekin Thomas Puppi Yelena Tsilker Current DC Staff Yana Mayayeva Kate Adams Tracy Manzer Brian Collins Ali Musser Luisa Gunn Nolan Dunnahoo Current District Office Staff Katrina Rill Raghda Karajah Angela Kimble Brian Perkins Sara Trejo Former District Office Staff Mike Larsen Tina Larsen Margaret Hernandez Mark Nagales Margo Rosen Mike Aydelott Katie Ferrick Kathleen Wentworth Richard Steffen Samantha Logan Niall Roberts Estefani Morales Alexandra Carter Barbara Braganza Carolyn Wylie Tom Adams Michelle Kong Aaron Keisler Shauna France Mark Leach John Krolik Alana Paul Ellen Ginsberg Julie Hoffman Jonathan Gast Samantha Rojas Meghan Coulson Rebecca Wolfson Alyson Megur Liz Becker

Ms. SPEIER

Ms. SPEIER. Madam Speaker, I rise to recognize Mike O'Neill as he departs from the Pacifica City Council after ten years of dedicated and outstanding service. Before joining the council in 2012, Mike served on the Pacifica School District Board of Trustees for 14 years and on the Pacifica Planning Commission for six years. Mike's dedication to public service and his joviality will undoubtedly be missed by his colleagues and the public. It takes a special kind of individual to spend hours studying for, and being in, meetings to resolve thorny issues such as housing, transportation congestion, airport noise, disaster preparedness and education. Mike is one of those special kind of individuals. During his tenure on the council, he served on the Airport Community Roundtable, the Joint School District/Water District/City Articulation Committee, the Pacific Coast Television Board, the Peninsula Congestion Relief Alliance, the San Mateo County Library JPA, the Local Agency Formation Commission (LAFCO), and the City/County Association of Governments (C/ CAG). It's been my pleasure and honor to work with Mike and his fellow councilmembers on many issues. Mike is always looking for solutions and ways to collaborate and compromise. He has participated in several union contract negotiations and set spending priorities and managed budgets for his coastal hometown of 40,000 residents. Pacifica spreads along six miles of the Pacific Ocean. It's world famous as a surfing destination and offers spectacular open spaces for hiking. When you hike to the top of Sweeney Ridge you can take in an awe-inspiring view of the Pacific Ocean, Crystal Springs Reservoir and San Francisco Bay. From the bluffs of Mori Point and Pedro Point Headlands you can watch humpback whales frolicking in the water. Pacifica is a paradise for outdoor enthusiasts. However, the power of the ocean has also created challenges for the city. The pounding surf, coastal erosion and sea level rise have undermined and destroyed infrastructure. Mike, along with the council and city staff, have worked closely with my office to find funding to secure the seawall at Beach Boulevard and Esplanade Boulevard where buildings were literally crumbling into the ocean and had to be demolished. During the COVID pandemic lockdown, the beaches in Pacifica were a magnet for people from all over the Bay Area. So many people were flocking to the coast that the city had to restrict access. Those were difficult decisions during difficult times, but Mike and his colleagues were doing their best to keep people safe. Schools are front and center in Mike's life. In his day job, he works for the Jefferson Union High School District in Daly City. For 14 years, he drove a school bus. If you have any doubt that Mike understands what teenagers are thinking about, think again. He just recently moved to Adult Education as a transition navigator in which capacity he helps adults with resumes, life skills and job searches. He also served for 14 years on the Pacifica School District board where he focused on delivering the best possible education and learning environment for the students and teachers. His last vote on the school board was a vote to ``surplus'' the Oddstad school property so that it could be utilized better in the future. Seven years ago, plans to convert the property into workforce housing began. Mike was already on the city council and he pushed hard to get the plan approved. However, technical delays have been postponing the vote which is now expected in late January or February of 2022. While Mike will miss the vote by just about a month, Pacifica will not forget his leadership on the project. He was also instrumental in the creation of 122 workforce housing units for the Jefferson Union High School District. Mike was born in San Francisco. He received his AA in Criminology from City College of San Francisco and his BA in Recreation from San Francisco State University. He has worked as a savings and loan branch manager, investment manager, and realtor in addition to his jobs at the Jefferson Union High School District. Mike and his wife Liz live in Pacifica with their middle daughter Siobhan. Their son Sean and daughter Alana have moved out and are building their own families. In his free time, Mike likes to barbeque and smoke meats, study history and play trivia. Madam Speaker, I ask the members of the House of Representatives to join me in honoring Mike O'Neill for his three decades of public service, ten of them on the city council. While he is leaving the dais, his fingerprints will remain on many Pacifica institutions. We thank him for his contributions and hope that we will still see him as Santa Claus during the annual tree lighting ceremony sharing a jovial ho, ho, ho.

Ms. SPEIER

Ms. SPEIER. Madam Speaker, I rise to recognize Ann O'Brien Keighran as she departs public service after 17 years on the Burlingame City Council, serving four times as Mayor, and another seven years as a planning commissioner, Ann has been a tireless advocate for Burlingame's quality of life and for business improvement. Burlingame is a city with 30,000 residents who enjoy a small-town environment just a few miles south of bustling San Francisco. Its tree- lined avenues and older homes combine with outstanding schools to entice the region's entrepreneurs, professionals, and hard-working skilled workers to raise families in the midst of a beautiful environment. Ann was raised in Burlingame, graduated from Mercy High School, and attended the University of San Francisco where she earned her Master of Science in nursing. She later practiced at Sequoia Hospital and taught nursing at our local community college and the University of San Francisco. During her combined 25 years on the planning commission and city council, she worked tirelessly with her colleagues to retain the small town feel of the community while also adapting it to the evolving economy. Ann's tenure on the council included final determination of the future of the city's golf course, ongoing work on the storm drain system to eliminate frequent flooding and growing the tax base by approving major new office and housing developments. How many hours in the public interest has Ann given over a quarter century of service? It's hard to estimate, but it's safe to say she had zero time to watch re-runs streaming on Amazon. Significant improvements created during her time in public service include a new Community Center. Discussion about this facility began when she first took office, waxed and waned through economic cycles, and finally resulted in a successful bond measure. The building opened this year and is stunning. Ann was one of the center's earliest and most consistent voices. She supported other long-needed improvements, including the reconstruction of the Broadway/Highway 101 interchange and an enormous improvement to Burlingame Avenue, one of the city's central business districts. As she noted in her comments to the public upon announcing her retirement from public life, the Burlingame Avenue project, ``. . . brought beauty and commerce together to delight shoppers and residents.'' Ann and her colleagues approved a new Safeway, but not without controversy. Two years into her council service, her diplomacy was key to getting this reconstruction accomplished. She fought hard to make California's High Speed Rail project amendable to Burlingame's needs and supported construction of affordable housing on a city parking lot and the creation of Peninsula Clean Energy. Her record of public and private contributions also includes serving on the fire board, as the council's ongoing liaison to the Chamber of Commerce, as the city/school liaison, as an advisor to our local shelter for women, on task forces for housing and universal healthcare coverage, and as a long-time parishioner in Our Lady of Angels Church. From dog parks to redesign of our grand boulevard, the El Camino Real, to serving as a basketball team coach at her children's school, she's done it all. As she retires from public office, Ann should look back over her time in public service as one of tremendous accomplishment. She noted in announcing her retirement that she shares credit with Burlingame staff and her many colleagues on the council. This is true, but it understates the fact that she made difficult decisions without rancor and helped keep the community's finances sound when things were really tough over many years. Looking forward, her adult children, Kerry and Kate Rose, will now have more time to spend with their mother. Ann will work in her position with the Center for Age Friendly Excellence, helping to guide communities to become healthier, more accessible places for seniors. Of course, her quiet leadership will be missed. Her biography notes that she's quite an accomplished Celtic dancer. Maybe now that the gavel on a dais no longer dominates her weeks, she will find time to concentrate on this skill. From 1998, when she joined the planning commission, to the present, Ann danced for us on the public stage. She was an accomplished public policymaker, a real leader, and she's a tough act to follow. I wish her well in the years ahead.

Ms. SPEIER

Ms. SPEIER. Madam Speaker, I rise to recognize my friend and colleague San Mateo County Board President Don Horsley as he departs the San Mateo County Board of Supervisors after 12 years in this phase of his service to the public. His is a remarkable career. Don graduated with honors from San Francisco State University in 1969. He worked as a juvenile counselor with the San Mateo County Probation Department and as a classroom teacher in middle school. When he decided to become a police officer, one of his earliest jobs was in the City of Pacifica. He subsequently joined the San Mateo County Sheriffs Office and began his patrol work in what would eventually become the City of East Palo Alto. While in the early phase of his career at the Sheriff's office, Don helped plan and oversee the construction of a new county correctional facility. The new building transformed incarceration in the county, featuring mental health and medical facilities onsite. In the jail, he promoted direct supervision, a practice in which deputies and correctional officers worked directly with detainees. Don's innovative work resulted in a substantial reduction in violence. Don was elected Sheriff in 1993 in a hard-fought campaign against the status quo. After his election, he got to work reducing violence in our most vulnerable communities. The new Sheriff pledged a multi-jurisdictional law enforcement taskforce that helped the City of East Palo Alto to dramatically reduce the number of homicides. This support for East Palo Alto continued throughout Don's nearly 14 years as Sheriff. He later established the Sheriffs Activities League to help kids become successful in school and to keep kids out of gangs. He recruited qualified women and diverse officers into the department and put them into neighborhoods through both patrols and community events. When Don retired from the Sheriffs office, he ran for the Sequoia Hospital District Board of Trustees. During his service, he advocated for increased funding for the North Fair Oaks Clinic and a community grant program that supported improved healthcare outcomes, particularly for children, throughout the district. In 2010, Don ran for the San Mateo County Board of Supervisors and won. He served three times as Board President. His work has been extraordinary, focused in part on coastal agricultural issues and healthcare. He is a staunch advocate of thoughtful public safety. He supported the construction of a new county jail facility that allows even more space for mental health and vocational services for detainees. While all board members support affordable housing, Don and his colleague Warren Slocum were assigned to the Jobs Housing Task force. Thanks to millions in county funding and an influx of federal and state funds during the pandemic, Don and his colleagues purchased five hotels and are presently in construction on a 240 bed navigation center. The objective is to reach functional zero homelessness by the end of 2022. San Mateo County is well on its way to meeting this objective. For example, in October 2022, there were 262 more homeless persons contacted when compared to October 2021. By 2023, the number of interim shelter beds will have increased by 91 percent when compared to 2019. Since October of 2021, 733 formerly homeless persons have been moved into permanent housing. Starting in 2023, $4 million in county funds will be devoted to paying the rent of those facing evictions. Don Horsley also serves on the Board of Directors of the Health Plan of San Mateo, a Medi-Cal managed health plan. 150,000+ San Mateo residents have coverage through this locally managed organization. Don's dedication to human dignity is rooted in the basics: health and housing. He is also a staunch advocate for sensible gun violence prevention and recently led the effort to fund county positions to remove guns from the homes of those otherwise prohibited by law from owning weapons. Madam Speaker, Don Horsley is wise. He is gracious. He is sensible. He cares. As he leaves public service for what will likely be the last time, we wish him well. The teacher turned lawman turned community steward has devoted his life to the people he served. Lives have been saved and enriched by Don Horsley. Futures were created because he took a moment to offer a thought. We won't find his face chiseled onto a mountainside but Don Horsley's impact upon us all will last for decades. An overall quiet man, he roared on the field of public policy. Now his wife Elaine, his children Matt, David, and Christine, and their families will have time of their own with Don. We relinquish him to their care with our thanks for a job exceedingly well done.

Ms. SPEIER

Ms. SPEIER. Madam Speaker, I rise to recognize my good friend and colleague Carole Groom as she departs the San Mateo County Board of Supervisors after 13 years of service. The people of San Mateo County are losing a champion of children, healthcare, economic justice, and the environment. Carole began her public service career on the City of San Mateo's public works and planning commissions. She was appointed to the city council in 2000 and won election to a full four-year term in 2001. She twice served as Mayor. Carole and her colleagues skillfully guided the Bay Meadows development through public reviews and controversy, and the result is a spectacular 83 acres of mixed-use development adjacent to a major rail station. It hosts 1,250 residential units and 1.25 million square feet of office space. She also supported the overlapping Rail Corridor Specific Plan that covered the area from Hillsdale Boulevard to the old Kmart site. That plan produced hundreds of new housing units, retail and office buildings at the old Kmart shopping center, serving as a regional example to emulate. As an avid booster of downtown San Mateo, she coined the saying, ``If you can't find it in San Mateo, you don't need it.'' This remains an unofficial slogan of the city. Carole was appointed to the Board of Supervisors in 2009 and formed the first board with women in the majority. She won a full four-year term in 2010. These were the darkest days of the housing recession. In her first comments as a member, she noted that she wanted to continue her work on the county's budget deficit and universal health coverage. Carole's priorities also included protecting parks and open space. In 2009, she launched ``Active San Mateo County'' which convened an annual Fall conference exploring health and wellbeing, and that planned an annual countywide event, ``Streets Alive! Parks Alive!'' The county's parks and recreation directors recognized her with their ``Champion of the Community'' award in 2012. Perhaps Carole's signature effort to boost economic justice in San Mateo County came through an innovative program known as ``The Big Lift.'' It was a big lift to consider a countywide program to increase the percentage of third graders reading at grade level from 58 percent to 80 percent, but Carole, her board colleagues and the county's superintendent of education took on the task. Key interventions included access to preschool, inspiring summer experiences, reducing chronic absenteeism, and increasing family engagement from preschool to third grade. The pandemic struck a blow to this noble effort, but it continues and undoubtedly paid off for thousands of children from 2013 to 2020 when classes were greatly disrupted. Peninsula Clean Energy was the brainchild of Supervisors Pine and Groom. This countywide energy aggregator buys clean, renewable energy on the market and sells it to most businesses and households at 5 percent below the rates of our local utility. We all search for ways to reduce the cost of living and to improve the environment. The two Supervisors found a remarkable way to do both, and today the agency has expanded its offerings to include grants for purchases of energy efficient appliances. Carole has deep roots in the health care system, having served as Vice President of Mills Peninsula Hospital for 18 years. She presently serves on the Board of Directors of the San Mateo County Hospital Board, the governing body for the San Mateo Medical Center. The hospital is a gem, and Carole Groom, as a skillful board member, is one of the finest jewelers in our community. In addition to her work on the Board of Supervisors, she serves as a member of the California Coastal Commission, the Bay Area Air Quality Management District, and on the board of our local transit agency, Samtrans. If it thrives on our coast, Carole protects it. If it pollutes the air, Carole opposes it. If it glides on big axels down the El Camino Real and gives essential mobility to the disabled, our working poor and the elderly, Carole celebrates it. Madam Speaker, we now say goodbye to a woman who everyone welcomes with joy when she walks into a room. We know that her heart was focused on policies that were fair and that protected the most vulnerable. It is said that on a clear day you can see forever. Carole saw the good in people, and her vision built a better life for millions over more than twenty years that she served our community and state. The woman who promoted reading to promote justice is now retiring. San Mateo County owes Supervisor Carole Groom its eternal appreciation. While she will be out of the limelight, Carole will remain in the hearts of all of us.

Ms. SPEIER

Ms. SPEIER. Madam Speaker, I rise to recognize one of the most extraordinary city managers I have ever known. My friend and colleague Charles Michael ``Mike'' Futrell leaves his position as city manager of South San Francisco, my hometown, after nine years of exemplary service. Mike has proven over and over again that he is one of the most productive, most creative, and most professional community leaders in the region. He superbly led this city of 67,000 people with a budget of over $400 million and set it on a path to success. Most residents of cities don't realize how much impact a city manager has on every aspect of their lives. Mike led 900 full and part-time personnel across all departments: police, fire, emergency medical services, emergency management, public works, parks and recreation, library, human resources, finance, communications, and economic and community development. He greatly improved South San Francisco's finances earning the city its first ever AAA bond rating. During his tenure, the city yielded budget surpluses every year, and he delivered record budget reserves. To appreciate how much Mike brought to the table when he started his job as city manager, it helps to know his background. Mike earned a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration from Louisiana State University, a Master's in Business Administration from the University of Massachusetts. Amherst, and a JD from Louisiana State University Paul M. Herbert Law School. He was a Ph.D. scholar in Management of Complex Systems at the University of California, Merced, and he received a Learn, Engage, Accelerate, Disrupt (L.E.A.D.) Certification in Corporate Innovation from Stanford. Mike did not confine his accomplishments to academics. He also served in public office and held other senior administrative positions in both the public and private sectors. He was an elected member of the Baton Rouge Metropolitan Council, an elected member of the Louisiana House of Representatives, a state director for a U.S. Senator, the Chief Administrative Officer for the City of Baton Rouge, a U.S. Navy Captain at the U.S. Pacific Command, and an Executive Vice President for Hawaii Gas. As you can surmise from this impressive background, there isn't any situation or problem Mike can't tackle. Among the most visible changes in South San Francisco during his tenure are the increase in the construction of housing units and the revitalization of the downtown, both priorities for Mike. More than 4,500 new residential units will be built in the next five years, a significant effort to address the crushing housing shortage in the Bay Area. Press reports indicate that, under his leadership, the city's biotechnology employers are expected to more than double their square footage. from 12 million to 25 million square feet, within the next few years. Madam Speaker, South San Francisco is a remarkable community, and Mike contributed greatly to its success. He will now take his talents to Riverside, California, where he will also be closer to his children. We wish Mike and his wife, Susan Freeman, our very best for a successful future in their new home. Both will be missed, but fondly remembered, in the years ahead.

Ms. SPEIER

Ms. SPEIER. Madam Speaker, I rise to recognize Millbrae Councilman Reuben Holober as he leaves the City Council. Reuben was 25 years old when first elected in 2013. He grew up in Millbrae, received his Bachelor's Degree from the University of Washington and his Master's Degree in Public Policy from the University of California at Berkeley. Prior to joining the council, he served on the city's Sister City Commission. He also served as an intern for the late Congressman Tom Lantos. During his youth, he earned the rank of Eagle Scout. Millbrae is a small town of 22,000 stretching from the edge of the bay adjacent to San Francisco International Airport to the wooded hillsides of the Peninsula. Its businesses are almost all small companies. Historically, they largely served local residents, travelers and the airport. In the wake of the housing collapse, Millbrae businesses were hit hard. It was during recovery from that recession that Reuben first ran for public office. He noted in his candidate statement that while the first priority for residents was public safety, the city's tax base needed to grow to support the goal of safety. Developing the areas around the BART/Caltrain station was key to generating revenue. Today, at the site of the station, construction companies are putting the final touches on 840 units of new housing, 50,000 square feet of retail, and a new hotel. Reuben supported this addition to Millbrae, and it will undoubtedly become a template for similar sites around the country. The city council made many difficult decisions during Reuben's time in office. When a fire consumed the beloved Millbrae Recreation Center, he and colleagues secured the funds to build a beautiful new facility. In recent years, water rates have escalated because of aging infrastructure as well as price increases by the city's water supplier. It fell to then-Mayor Holober to note these painful increases in his 2020 reports to the residents, but he also explained all the wonderful work that was done by the public works department, including replacement of many pipes that were more than 50 years old A new biotechnology building is under construction near the BART/ Caltrain station. Due to the openness of Reuben and his colleagues to new business development, the city is known as a place where companies with the right ideas can get projects successfully through the approval process. When he joined the council, he was half the age of a typical councilmember. With youthful optimism, he joined the council's Technology Subcommittee and Infrastructure Task Force. His colleagues also assigned him to be the council's representative to the Millbrae Chamber of Commerce, the Peninsula Traffic Congestion Relief Alliance, the San Mateo County Library Joint Powers Authority, and the Caltrain Local Policy Makers Group. Millbrae Community Television, which broadcasts local events, also benefited from his service on its Board of Directors Reuben was Mayor in 2020 when COVID arrived. It is almost painful today to read his remarks to colleagues, delivered in November. He noted, ``2020 has been an extremely difficult year due to the COVID-19 pandemic. From job losses and economic decline . . . to feelings of isolation and depression . . . due to necessary shelter-in-place and social distancing orders. In many ways . . . we were not prepared for the pandemic.'' He and his council colleagues rose to the challenge. He noted that the council provided grants to local businesses and helped them apply for greater funding through the SBA. He fulther noted that 409 businesses received PPP loans that saved 2,600 jobs, The council also passed ordinances to allow curbside dining outdoors, expedited construction permits, closed streets to allow residents and visitors to stroll, and limited fees charged by DoorDash and others so that restaurants could survive without customers being gouged by delivery charges. All of this was done even though at the time the city's budget took a $6.5 million hit due to revenue reductions. By cutting other expenses sharply, the deficit was reduced to $1.3 million, but this left the city operating ``on a shoestring budget'' according to then-Mayor Holober. With completion of the new recreation center, major development at the Caltrain/BART station, and commencement of development of a nearby biotechnology complex, Millbrae is finally poised to soar. Reuben Holober can be confident that his quiet and effective leadership was crucial to building a bright future for the city he loves. I wish him, his wife Amy and his son, Nolan, all the best in the years ahead. Reuben Holober, the 25-year-old who wanted to serve, has done a wonderful job for his city and his neighbors. He's now earned the ultimate badge towards the rank of Eagle Scout: Civic duty. Democracy in Millbrae is better due to his time on the council.

Ms. SPEIER

Ms. SPEIER. Madam Speaker, I rise to recognize my friend and colleague Ray Mueller who served on the Menlo Park City Council for ten years, two terms as mayor, as he is entering a new chapter in his public service career. Ray was just elected as the San Mateo County Supervisor for the 3rd District where he will undoubtedly continue his outstanding and dedicated service to the community. Ray was first elected to the council in 2012. During his tenure he was always focused on improving the quality of life and safety of residents, the economy and the environment. As the father of two teenagers, Max, 16 and Elle, 12, he is particularly driven to work towards policies that will ensure the future of his and all children. He is married to his high school sweetheart Kristen Shima. I have known Ray for a decade and have always been impressed and inspired by his can-do attitude, resourcefulness, and optimism. Ray is a graduate of the University of California, Berkeley, and he received his JD from the University of California, Hastings College of the Law. He now works as an attorney in the emergency response and services sector. His legal acumen and analytical mind have certainly served the city of Menlo Park very well. Along with his council colleagues, he has been able to balance the city budget for eight consecutive years and to maintain the city's AAA bond rating since he was elected. He and the council have also saved taxpayers millions of dollars through smart policies. Menlo Park, like the rest of the Bay Area, is plagued by a lack of affordable housing and traffic congestion. Ray has strongly advocated solutions for these interconnected issues. During his time on the council, Menlo Park adopted two housing elements. He was appointed and served on the State of California Tax Credit Allocation Committee which administers the federal and state low-income housing tax credit programs. Menlo Park set aside housing units with rental subsidies for teachers and other community-serving professionals in housing development approvals. Ray worked with Facebook to add housing units on its proposed campus expansion. During the pandemic, Menlo Park made $100,000 available in grants for emergency rental housing assistance. Ray served on the board of LifeMoves, one of the largest homeless services providers in Silicon Valley. He and his fellow council members also developed and approved a citywide Transportation Master Plan which focuses on traffic mitigation, safe routes to schools and across freeways, street resurfacing and sidewalks, and improved rail service. Ray is particularly passionate about our youth. When he was mayor in 2019, he created a youth advisory commission. He launched an after school homework center at the Belle Haven Library bringing in skilled volunteers to provide one-on-one support. He also hosted several civics days at city hall and taught leadership classes at the Boys and Girls Club. During the pandemic, he reactivated childcare centers and transformed after-school programs into learning pods for distance learning. Ray fully understands that without climate change mitigation our planet and the future of our youth hangs in the balance. In 2020, Menlo Park adopted its first Climate Action Plan. Four years prior, he voted to enroll all city facilities in ECO 100, a program that provides 100 percent renewable energy for city buildings, streetlights and charging stations. As mayor in 2014, Ray prioritized the formation of Menlo Park Spark to promote regional climate action policy. He is also a staunch defender of our open spaces and parks. Despite his extensive work hours as an attorney and council member, he manages to find time to volunteer for the San Mateo chapter of the Surfrider Foundation. An avid surfer himself, Ray has a deep love and respect for the awesome power of nature. He is currently taking a hiatus from the sport to allow a serious neck injury to heal. Madam Speaker, I ask the Members of the House of Representatives to rise with me to thank Ray Mueller for his exemplary service on the Menlo Park City Council and to wish him continued success and stamina for his upcoming service on the San Mateo County Board of Supervisors. His contributions will keep shaping our beautiful county and coast.

Ms. SPEIER

Ms. SPEIER. Madam Speaker, I rise to recognize my friend and colleague Millbrae Mayor Anne Oliva as she steps down from the city council at the end of her present term, and after serving nine years on the council. She has distinguished herself by doing outstanding work while in elective office. Anne has lived in Millbrae for more than 20 years. She was appointed to the Millbrae City Council in 2013 to fill a vacancy and was elected to a full four year term in November of that year. Her top priorities at the time were building economic strength and sustainability, protecting private property rights, and ensuring public safety. Millbrae was emerging from the housing recession and its downtown business district was suffering. Hotel occupancy taxes, a major source of city revenue, were significantly depressed. The city's budget had been cut repeatedly and difficult decisions lay ahead. In subsequent years, Anne and her colleagues made tough choices. They contracted for police services from the San Mateo County Sheriff's office, a decision that was discussed at great length due to the affection that the people of Millbrae had for their own department. Economic growth came with controversy. Millbrae is a major transportation hub with a combined BART and Caltrain station serving thousands of daily commuters. The council approved a large development on the BART parking lot, delivering hundreds of units of needed housing, a new hotel and accompanying tax revenue, offices, and retail to serve all. Anne supported the development as part of her promise to build the economic strength of the city and the sustainability of its budget. Her experience as a real estate agent and broker has informed her public service. She served on the Board of Directors of the San Mateo County Association of Realtors, including on its legislative committee and as President. She also served on similar legislative committees for the California Association of Realtors and the National Association of Realtors. When the County of San Mateo sought assistance from property owners and managers to find apartments for persons holding federal housing vouchers, Anne worked with my office and San Mateo County to identify willing owners and managers. She and her brother also manage hundreds of apartment units and homes. They encourage property owners to accept federal housing vouchers and many do, thus helping low-income households throughout San Mateo County. At least part of her dedication to ending homelessness arises from personal experience. Anne once noted that, ``One of the most impactful and tough experiences in my life was the night my husband Jose and I received a call that we will never forget. We learned that our son, who suffers addiction and mental health issues, was living on the street. We are blessed that he is fine now and doing much better. But my family's story is all too typical. I refuse to accept the status quo on homelessness. We cannot continue to let people live and die on our streets.'' Over her 20+ years as a resident, Anne has been a volunteer for the PTA, the Mills High School Athletics Booster Club, and the Italian- American Women's Guild. She is a local coordinator for the Coats for Kids program, and in 2010 she was awarded the Community Service Award by the realtor's association. She also fundraises for the San Mateo County Historical Association. We thank her husband Jose, daughter Francesca, and two sons Joey and Marco, for allowing Anne time to serve the public. Her presence will now be more predictable, and they have the satisfaction of knowing that Anne's occasional absences were needed to build a better Millbrae for everyone. Most importantly for Anne, she will now have time to spend with her two new grandchildren, Carolina and Isabella, born October 10, 2022. It may be a step down from public service to leave a city council, but it's a step up in service to humanity to become a grandmother. Anne is very fortunate to have received a promotion at this point in her life. It is now time to say farewell to Anne Oliva as she leaves public life, but thankfully she isn't moving away. Her ever-present smile and can-do attitude will be evident in her community, and her willingness to volunteer will endure. When local businesses seek an advocate, they will always have Anne as an ally. Importantly, she will continue to work her magic in the real estate market, providing housing to those who need it, opportunities for those who seek the American Dream, and fair returns to owners. The wind and fog that occasionally sweep through Millbrae will continue to have their rival in Anne's energy, and the optimism about the future that she exudes will be remembered as a major force for good during the nine years that she served Millbrae, a community that she loves.

Ms. SPEIER

Ms. SPEIER. Madam Speaker, I rise to recognize my friend and colleague Belmont City Councilmember and former Mayor Charles Stone as he concludes his term of office on the city council. The city is losing a truly conscientious and forward-looking leader. Charles Stone is a lifelong resident of San Mateo County and a resident of Belmont since 2004. He was first elected to the city council in 2013 and then was re-elected in 2017. He is a graduate of Hillsdale High School, the University of California at San Diego, where he received his degree in political science, and Santa Clara University School of Law. He practices law at the Law Office of Katherine R. Moore in Redwood City. Prior to joining the city council, he served on the Board of Directors of School-Force!, a nonprofit raising funds for Belmont and Redwood Shores schools. His interest in city policy began as he noticed a lack of cooperation between the city and school district. As he put it, ``It was more like two fists pounding together than two hands being aligned and I didn't like that.'' In 2013, he threw his hat into the ring to create more family-friendly policies and those more amendable to working families. Throughout his time on the city council, Charles Stone has been focused on housing, transportation and economic development. After two terms on the council, and after many long nights discussing housing and the city's general plan, Belmont is one of the few cities in San Mateo County that is on track to meet its state-mandated goals to produce affordable units. The most recent development, Firehouse Square, is 100 percent affordable and has 66 units adjacent to the Belmont Caltrain Station. There are 331 units of affordable housing built in recent years or in the pipeline, along the El Camino Real transit corridor. Charles has been a leader in making this new housing a reality. As a councilmember, he serves as the council's representative to seven intergovernmental agencies and to multiple nonprofits. He has six council committee assignments. However, his most time-consuming assignment outside of the council chambers is his role as a member of the board of our local transit agency, Samtrans, and as a board member of the Peninsula Corridor Joint Powers Board (Caltrain). He is an undisputed regional leader in transportation. He successfully negotiated, along with two other local leaders, for the payment of $35 million to Samtrans for its 1991 purchase of the Caltrain right of way on behalf of three counties. For more than a year, and in the midst of confusion and finger pointing by leaders in other counties, Charles repeatedly and publicly read the terms of the longstanding contract and demanded that the terms not be changed without appropriate repayment of the outstanding debt. The money and new terms were approved this year, marking a rare moment when San Mateo County and its transportation interests were treated equally by the other two counties. Charles fought successfully to raise the minimum wage in Belmont. He twice served as Mayor. He worked with a neighboring community to end traffic gridlock near a high school. He supported his police department while embracing the need for change to ensure equity. He also supported the arrival of Stanford University to the campus of a small liberal arts university long located in Belmont. During his time on the council, bioscience discovered Belmont. Councilman Stone supported conversion of office space to lab space and the construction of new labs. During the darkest days of the pandemic, Charles and his colleagues created a $100,000 fund for local businesses, adding to state and federal small business funds. He also appropriately chastised the federal government's business pandemic relief programs for leaving too many behind and for operating with insufficient controls. ``Had [the federal government] dug in a little more and spent more time on this I think we'd be in better shape today,'' he noted in April 2020. I think the GAO auditors tracing fraud would agree with Councilman Stone. It is now time for Charles Stone to step down from the city council and to regain time to hike with his daughters, Sophia and Sara, around Waterdog Lake. I want to thank him for putting his astute mind to use on behalf of working and middle-class families in San Mateo County for over 10 years. He can honestly state that the difference he made is cast in concrete, framed in steel, and sits within a beautiful city blessed with green hills and oak trees that he cherishes. He improved the lives of tens of thousands. This ex-rugby player is temporarily leaving the field, but the score on the board shows that, despite occasional injuries and perhaps a few involuntary blood donations, he was key to delivering a win for the people of Belmont.

Ms. SPEIER

Ms. SPEIER. Madam Speaker, I rise to recognize my friend and colleague Regina Wallace-Jones as she steps away from the City Council of East Palo Alto. Her service will influence the course of the city for decades to come. Regina was raised in West Covina in a family with multiple requirements: Obtain an excellent education, clean the house on Saturday, go to church on Sunday, and give service to the community. She noted on her campaign blog that Family Pizza Fridays were a must. In her 200-word candidate statement she mentioned that she is the daughter of union laborers and that she understood the struggle for livable wages and affordable housing. Upon reviewing the statement, her father asked if she would substitute Communications Workers of America for union laborers. She acknowledged that his change would be better, but then she would be two words over the limit. The proud union member relented. Regina received her bachelor's in Electrical Engineering from Stanford University and her Master of Science in Public Policy from the University of California, Los Angeles. She specialized in telecommunications and technology policy. She and her husband, Sheffond Jones, moved into their home in East Palo Alto in April of 2002, part of a new development known as Shorebrezze Runnymede. It's a small cluster of homes where neighbors fix their broken fences together, deal with infestations of field mice, help out with childcare, and stay friendly over time. In fact, friendliness is a word that describes East Palo Alto. Its people work hard across its 2.2 square miles, and often help out each other when times are difficult. It's a community where the median household income is $96,000, about 70 percent of the countywide median. It also sits side-by-side with Meta, and gentrification of the community is a significant concern. It was into this community that Regina advanced in 2018 with her 500 campaign signs and dozens of volunteers, offering to take up the challenges of being a city councilmember. She advocated for closer relations with the school district, technology training for residents, decreased traffic, economic development, and building affordable housing. The Ravenswood Business District is the city's largest opportunity to create new laboratory and office buildings. In 2019, the Department of Commerce's Economic Development Administration made a $4.4 million investment as part of an economic renewal project in this district. Regina has supported responsible development of the area to bring thousands of new employees to what will eventually be a new downtown. For the entire city, she supported obtaining water from neighboring communities to cure reliability problems that plague the existing water system. During her time in office, she strongly supported new infrastructure, including a new bike bridge over Highway 101 to connect residents on the west side of the city with the eastern side that has most of the stores and services. Regina was Mayor in 2020. Many of the residents of East Palo Alto are front-line essential workers. In September 2020, the city had a test positivity rate of 15 percent, more than three times higher than the countywide positivity rate. At a council meeting that month she noted, ``One of the biggest solutions that helps people recover is early identification and early intervention. And that comes from testing,'' As the pandemic sickened and killed residents, Mayor Wallace-Jones and her colleagues used city funds to first establish widespread testing and then to support outreach and staffing for a large vaccination program. Culturally competent outreach and volunteer efforts spread throughout the community. She and her council colleagues also had to grapple with a significant decline in tax revenue. Careful management of vacant positions and an infusion of federal aid helped bridge the gap. It is now time for the mother of Addison and Jocelyn to return to evenings with her family. It will not be easy, as Regina is also a CEO of a non-profit. However, this busy executive, daughter, mom and spouse deserves time to spend with her family. On our recent election day, when she had chosen not to be on the ballot, she reflected online, ``I loved my opportunity to serve. And I hope that more get out there and do the same. The end is only bitter when you've got nothing left. I'm grateful for every vote and every dollar that supported me.'' Madam Speaker, the whirlwind of Shorebreeze Runnymede will be remembered as a woman who made a difference. We are grateful that she was in leadership when a crisis hit her community and that she will remain an active resident as we edge our way into more normal times ahead.

Ms. SPEIER

Ms. SPEIER. Madam Speaker, I rise to recognize my friend and colleague Belmont City Councilman Warren Lieberman upon the occasion of his departure from the Belmont City Council after 22 years of remarkable service to Belmont, including three terms as Mayor. He served for 17 years on the council and for 5 years on the city's Finance Commission. He has lived in Belmont for over 20 years. He and his wife, Gracie, raised two children in Belmont, Vanessa and Max. Warren graduated from Yale University with a Ph.D. in Operations Research and from SUNY Binghamton with a Bachelor of Science in Mathematics and Computer Science. He is President of Veritec Solutions, and helps companies improve pricing and revenue management practices. When first elected to the city council in 2005, Warren focused on improving opportunities for youth sports and recreation. He was a coach in AYSO Soccer and Little League and realized that Belmont needed improved facilities. Substantial improvements were made to the city's sports complex. Given its steep, wooded canyons and grassy areas, Belmont is at risk of a catastrophic wildfire. As a councilmember, Warren worked hard to ensure that residents were always served by a fire department with adequate personnel and equipment. He joined the Belmont-San Carlos Fire Department Board and negotiated to restructure the obligations of his city so that they were fairer to Belmont residents. He was later selected by his colleagues on the city council to negotiate entry of Belmont into the San Mateo Consolidated Fire Department. He serves on its governing board. As a councilmember, Warren Lieberman also supported numerous efforts to stabilize and then grow Belmont's tax base. Business development was his central focus, but he also supported increasing the hotel occupancy tax and a local sales tax measure, both of which were approved by voters. As COVID ravaged the community, then acting-Mayor Lieberman led virtual meetings of the council and helped direct student energies in a positive manner during protests originating at Carlmont High School. Affordable housing is a challenge for all communities in my district. Warren voted to approve developments and made the case to the community that Belmont's success hinged on families of all income groups being able to feel secure in their housing. When residents objected to placing cannabis businesses near their homes and schools, Warren listened patiently. The council eventually voted to ban these businesses from school routes and neighborhoods. At the time that Warren joined the city council, its meetings were often fractious. He has worked hard to build relationships with other councilmembers so that the city's governance is more sure-footed. In 2014, he led the Council's effort to develop and implement a Code of Ethics and Conduct for Elected and Appointed Officials. The public appreciates his focus, and that of his colleagues, on policymaking rather than disputes. In part due to this focus, the city's infrastructure is being upgraded, affordable housing was constructed and is in the pipeline, and the city's budget has weathered the challenges of COVID and recessions. Growing families now may also utilize city rules that are more friendly to remodeling. Other council accomplishments during his time in office include: creation of a construction time ordinance; development of a better relationship with Notre Dame de Namur University; creation of the Beautify Belmont Awards; and, conversion of Davey Glen Park from a passive park into an active park. Madam Speaker, I note that this longtime civic leader will now return to private life so that he may concentrate on personal and business affairs. City Council work is a volunteer job, and it takes quite a bit of time away from one's family. I know that Gracie, Vanessa and Max will appreciate having more time to hear from Warren, and time for him to participate in family events. I wish Warren a wonderful life in the many years ahead. He made a difference, and as he travels around Belmont his accomplishments will stand before his eyes everywhere that he goes.

Ms. SPEIER

Ms. SPEIER. Madam Speaker, I rise to recognize San Mateo Deputy Mayor Diane Papan as she leaves the San Mateo City Council to become a member of the California State Assembly. The voters of the district have elected a strong leader who has always been attuned to the needs of her constituents. Diane Papan grew up in Daly City and Millbrae and then moved to the City of San Mateo. She was President of the Baywood Owners Improvement Association, Second Vice-President of the United Homeowners Association, and Chair of the Baywood School Site Council. She also worked on the San Mateo Downtown Master Plan and Parking Plan. She is a proud graduate of the University of California, Los Angeles, where she received her bachelor's degree in Political Science in 1985, and of my alma mater the University of California Hastings College of the Law from which she graduated in 1988. As an attorney, she began her legal career litigating public works projects. Today, she has her own commercial law practice representing small businesses. She also serves as the administrator of her family's charity, John's Closet, and a scholarship named for her late brother, the John Papan Memorial Scholarship. Diane is deeply concerned about climate change and has been instrumental in helping San Mateo County adjust to this new reality through her service on OneShoreline, a countywide district that creates projects to deal with sea level rise. As an original board member, she recognizes that San Mateo County is the No. 1 county in California at risk of damage to property and infrastructure. Together with her fellow board members, she has overseen the implementation of a project in Redwood City and Menlo Park to relieve flooding for hundreds of low- income residents of mobile homes. She and her colleagues are also guiding a project that will protect businesses and infrastructure in an area from the border with San Francisco International Airport through Burlingame to San Mateo. Some in San Mateo County questioned the need for a countywide agency to deal with climate change and sea level rise. Diane saw the aim of this agency and has always strongly supported it. As a councilmember and Mayor, Diane pushed to establish the 101 Express Lanes Joint Powers Authority so that San Mateo County could implement toll lanes along a lengthy stretch of our main freeway. The project will be completed next year but it promises to reduce carbon emissions and to speed commuters through a heavily congested corridor. She also represents the city on the board of the consolidated fire district. Diane has been a strong supporter of more housing within the City of San Mateo. For example, while on the council, she voted to allow two additional levels and 61 additional units to the city's Kiku Crossing development, an affordable housing project presently under construction. It was a controversial decision because it relied on recent changes to state law. Using state authority to create these units illustrates the important role that the state legislature plays in creating economic opportunity despite the opposition of some. Diane Papan's father, Lou, served in the State Assembly and she is therefore steeped in the history of the institution. However, I know that she will be her own person, as she has proven to be during her time on the city council. In fact, some lobbyists may ignore her individuality and attempt to ingratiate themselves by appeals to her father's memory and sensibilities, Diane, as intelligent and talented as she is, may wish to remind them of their folly by keeping a desk sign close at hand. It might read: ``Diane Papan: Proudly Lou's daughter, not his clone.'' Serving in elective office is a privilege. It is especially so when you are able to see the immediate impact of your work as is possible when you serve in the California legislature. In our present times, so much depends upon state law. Diane is a strong supporter of the reproductive rights of women, a supporter of California's assault weapons ban, and wants California to invest in wildfire prevention. She will be able to see these priorities and others turned into concrete action in the years ahead. I wish Diane Papan, her husband Dan Latini, and their daughter Alexa, all the best in the years to come.

Ms. SPEIER

Ms. SPEIER. Madam Speaker, I rise to recognize Linda Martin Mason who served on the San Bruno City Council for three years, the last one as Vice Mayor. The timing of her term was truly challenging because the majority of it was during the COVID-19 pandemic, a once-in-a-century event that no city council candidate could have possibly foreseen. Linda, her council colleagues and city staff rose to the occasion and found ways to keep San Bruno residents as safe as possible and to assist small businesses through these difficult years. The challenges of the pandemic played out in the Mason household. Linda, as General Counsel and Chief People Officer at the Housing Authority of the City and County of San Francisco, was an essential worker and required to work from her office. So too was her husband, Andrew Mason, as the President of the San Bruno Park School District Board of Trustees. Linda and Andrew have two young children, Fabian and Gabriel, now ten and six. Balancing their duties as a council member and trustee while alternating who was working remotely or from the office while also caring for their children whose daycare had been closed due to the pandemic was very difficult and stressful, but with the support of each other, Linda and Andrew managed. We owe them both a big debt for their unwavering service. During her time on the council, Linda and her colleagues were very productive. They negotiated a community benefits package with one of San Bruno's top employers, YouTube, that will result in $54 million coming to the city and create a state-of-the-art, environmentally friendly office park and community space in the Bayhill neighborhood. The construction of the new Recreation and Aquatic Center, funded by a PG&E settlement after the tragic pipeline explosion in 2010 that killed eight residents, is on time and within budget. The council successfully placed a transit occupancy tax measure on the ballot that will bring the tax to industry standards. They also negotiated with WalMart to bring over $3 million in additional tax revenue to the city. This year I was pleased that the House of Representatives approved almost half a million dollars in Community Project Funding for wildfire prevention for the cities of San Bruno and Belmont. Additionally, we voted to approve $2.4 million to the City/County Association of Governments of San Mateo County that would address flood control issues in San Bruno. It's now up to the U.S. Senate to approve this funding. The council enacted an emergency ordinance to protect small businesses from being evicted during the pandemic. Outdated rules were updated so that small restaurants downtown are now allowed to open without having to create parking. The council created a much-needed street paving schedule and supported $6 million in funding this year. Linda didn't hesitate to initiate or lead projects. Local press reports that Linda jumpstarted the negotiations with Artichoke Joe's which will provide about a million additional dollars to the city. She was also instrumental in securing $200,000 in county funds to beautify Posey Park and to fix a non-working fountain. Linda was a strong proponent for 12-year term limits for council council members and mayors, a measure that passed by more than 80 percent. Always advocating for transparency, equity and good governance, Linda has successfully pushed for more diversity on committees. commissions, and boards. She also advocated for stricter accountability measures from the San Bruno Foundation to assure grants are utilized as intended. Thanks to her, all foundation meetings are now recorded and available for public viewing. As a parent with children in public schools, Linda pushed for open communication and partnership between the school district and the city. The city manager and superintendent now meet regularly and during the pandemic, the city provided its internet service to low-income students who lacked internet access during the lockdown. Linda introduced the idea of the Peninsula Museum of Art moving into Tanforan Mall and repurposing additional empty mall space as working artists' studios. Linda is a San Francisco native. She earned a double major BA in Political Science and Spanish from San Francisco State University. She completed most of the coursework for her BA at Universidad Complutense de Madrid in Spain. She received her JD from San Francisco Law School. Madam Speaker, I ask my colleagues in the House of Representatives to join me in recognizing Vice Mayor Linda Mason for her service to the residents of San Bruno who are among the most resilient constituents in my Congressional District. I have no doubt that Linda will stay engaged in public life and continue to contribute to the community she loves.

Ms. SPEIER

Ms. SPEIER. Madam Speaker, I rise to recognize Laurence May upon the occasion of his departure from the Hillsborough Town Council. The residents of Hillsborough have benefitted enormously from Larry's service to the community in an elected or volunteer position since 1989. It takes a special personality to volunteer or to serve in elective office for 33 years. The word that comes to mind is ``patience.'' Larry served on the school board from 1995 to 2007. During that time, he spearheaded a $68 million bond measure to rebuild Hillsborough's schools. Even now, as a town council member, Larry continues his support of the schools. He supported a measure on the November ballot needed to upgrade the classrooms for modern education in science, engineering, technology and math, to repair roofs and electrical systems, to upgrade classrooms for earthquake compliance, and to install solar when feasible. Prior to joining the school board, Larry served on the Hillsborough Schools Foundation Executive Committee from 1989 to 1993. Woven into Larry May's story is a family history of dedication to Hillsborough. His mother was a significant volunteer and essentially raised Larry from childhood with a sense of duty towards the community. Today, this duty extends beyond the borders of Hillsborough to include service on countywide organizations such as the Housing Endowment and Regional Trust of San Mateo County and Peninsula Clean Energy, as well as the City-County Association of Governments Bicycle and Pedestrian Advisory Committee. He's chaired the Hillsborough Town Council's Audit and Finance Committee and served as Chair from 2021 to the present. The Town of Hillsborough is a remarkable community of 11,000 nestled in the hills and flatlands of central San Mateo County. The community's spirit is extraordinary, with volunteerism playing a major role in civic life. Larry May has personified this volunteer spirit over decades. During his council service, he's given countless hours of expert legal advice to his colleagues and offered a willing ear to residents seeking a redress of their grievances. He has also been the council's liaison to the city's Code Enforcement Board, the Architecture and Design Review Board, and served as a commissioner on the Hillsborough Recreation Commission since 2011. One of the most challenging positions was serving on the SFO Airport Community Roundtable. Larry and leaders from neighboring cities tried to find ways to decrease airport noise impacts on the community despite woefully inadequate federal noise protections. In the 1980's, Larry served on the Board of Directors of the Heart Association of San Mateo County and was a member of the Rotary Club of Foster City. Not all of Larry's nonprofit service has been solely to Hillsborough or to its schools. He is deeply embedded in the health system, having served on the Board of Trustees of the Palo Alto Medical Foundation, the Mills Peninsula Hospital Foundation and the Board of Trustees of Mills Peninsula Hospital. Larry was educated at Crocker Middle School in Hillsborough and ultimately received his A.B. in Economics from the University of California. Berkeley and his J.D. Cum Laude, Law, from Santa Clara University School of Law. He served for almost three years as a Deputy Attorney General for the State of California before entering private practice in local law firms. He is now retired, but he enjoyed practicing law representing investors and developers of real estate in their transactional activities. He also handled acquisitions, dispositions, leases, and financing as well as appearances before public agencies. I want to also express my appreciation to Larry's wife, Laurie, their son Aaron, and their daughter Jessica for sharing Larry with the community over all these years. While the time that Larry dedicated to his community improved it enormously over many decades, his family supported him during countless hours when he was performing his public duties. We owe them a debt of gratitude. My best wishes to my friend Larry May--a local boy who grew up to lead. He is a public servant who left his mark on Hillsborough, and for that we are all grateful that he did.

Ms. SPEIER

Ms. SPEIER. Madam Speaker, I rise to recognize Sanjay Gehani as he concludes his service on the city council of Foster City. Sanjay was elected in 2018 and is the first Mayor of Indian descent in the city's history. When elected, he likely never imagined that a global pandemic as well as federal and state law would profoundly shape his time in office. Sanjay is a true child of the Midpeninsula. He was raised in Belmont and moved to Foster City as a child where he fondly remembers playing Little League on Foster City's wonderful sports fields. He and his family have always had a home in the city, although in recent years his parents maintain their primary residence across the bay. As a resident since childhood, he is invested in this community and its traditions. In his candidate statement, Sanjay listed three top priorities as, ``Take a break from housing production, enable traffic management solutions, improve relationships with the school district.'' During his four-year term, the city created a traffic mitigation measure along Hillsdale Boulevard and Foster City worked closely with a state legislator to change state law to allow cities to access state housing funds to preserve existing affordable housing. Sanjay supported both measures as well as efforts to assist residents of Fosters Landing when they were faced with skyrocketing rents at the end of their guaranteed decades of affordability. While state law made pausing housing construction unlikely, Sanjay expressed his concerns about the law but ultimately worked with colleagues to ensure that Foster City submitted a housing element to the state that the council and staff believed would pass muster. As COVID continued to rage in 2021, Sanjay Gehani was Mayor. He voted to assist Foster City small businesses and to help families by creating family-friendly events during a time of isolation. For example, he supported the Rubber Ducky Races which returned to Foster City after a 30-year hiatus. As vaccination rates rose, he supported creating hybrid city council meetings where residents could participate through Zoom or in person. He launched the Mayoral Minute video series, offering residents concise updates about city affairs. He supported the creation of a sister city relationship with Inagi City, Japan. The largest single public works project in the history of the city is the upgrade of the Foster City levee. As a councilmember in 2020, shortly after the pandemic came to Foster City, and amidst all of the uncertainty, Sanjay and his colleagues unanimously voted to accept the bid that commenced construction. At the time of its final permit approval, the Foster City levee was the largest single project in the modern history of the permitting agency. It set several precedents and it is a credit to Sanjay and his colleagues that they were able to get this needed improvement under construction and to keep it on track despite the pandemic impacting nearly all other public works projects. Sanjay and his colleagues also worked very hard to keep a large upgrade to the wastewater treatment system on track and on budget. Sanjay represents the city as a liaison to, or member of, several regional boards and commissions. These include but are not limited to the Airport Land Use Committee, the Association of Bay Area Governments, the City/County Association of Governments, the League of California Cities, the Foster City Chamber of Commerce, the Peninsula Traffic Congestion Relief Alliance, the San Mateo-Foster City Elementary School District, and the South Bayside Waste Management Authority. Professionally, Sanjay spent 15 years at high technology companies before co-founding a preschool franchising company that is one of the largest in the nation. He is proud to help franchisees become financially independent. His commitment to children goes beyond establishing preschools as he coaches Foster City Little League and serves on the board of directors. He holds a bachelor's degree in Electrical Engineering from the University of California at Davis and an MBA in Marketing and Leading Organizations from the Leavey School of Business at Santa Clara University. As Foster City says goodbye to its former Mayor and Councilmember, it will remember his efforts to help better the community. Democracy needs people who are willing to step up and to accept the responsibilities of public office. Sanjay Gehani was willing to serve so that others could concentrate on their private and business lives. He will now rejoin his neighbors in those same roles, and his wife Sweetu and son Veer will now have more time with Sanjay for important family matters. The people of Foster City will no longer have the benefit of that time, but they will always owe a debt to their neighbor who accepted the role of leadership, with all of its blessings and challenges, during one of the most trying times in modern history.

Ms. SPEIER

Ms. SPEIER. Madam Speaker, I rise to recognize a giant sunflower in a field of wildflowers. Diana Reddy, councilwoman in Redwood City, is leaving office. I am saddened to see her retire. As a public policymaker she stands out because of her willingness to consistently advocate for low-income families across multiple issues, most importantly housing. Her support of these families led powerful forces to oppose her initial election. She prevailed, and her message of social justice, delivered from the dais in the years since, is a call that all fair-minded persons should heed. Diana spent 35 years working in the administration of the Sequoia Union High School District, starting in 1972. The city changed enormously during that time. From that change, she drew many lessons that she applied to her city council service. When Diana first worked for the school district, Redwood City had about 56,000 residents and median household income was about $10,000, equivalent in 2020 to $63,000. By 2020, the median household income was $123,000 or almost double what it would have been if virulent housing inflation had not created a wave of gentrification that swept over Redwood City in the intervening decades. Upon retirement, Diana went to work for Peninsula Interfaith Action and became the face of this group before many peninsula city councils. She advocated for affordable housing, transportation services and healthcare for all residents. In 2010, she wrote an opinion piece in our local newspaper entitled, ``Why Affordable Housing Week Matters'' and noted that two affordable housing developments had recently opened in San Mateo County. One had 119 apartments and 1,500 applications, while the second had 68 apartments and 1,000 applicants. Each year, she noted, San Mateo County and two other nearby counties competed nationally for the dubious distinction of being the metropolitan area where housing costs and household income are most misaligned. This situation was simply unjust. As she noted in comments made during her council campaign eight years later, ``At first, the displacement we were seeing affected service workers, low-income seniors, and veterans and has evolved into our teachers, highly trained crafts workers, nurses and others critical to our community. We are the heart of one of the wealthiest areas in the country. That wealth was created on the backs of working people who are not able to benefit from their efforts.'' Today, the city's focus has changed dramatically. When discussing city policies, staff and council are now committed to grappling with the question of how the policy impacts disparate groups within the city. Councilwoman Reddy and two other councilmembers served on a council subcommittee to hammer out a proposed equity plan for the city. This changed focus is one of the outcomes. She even helped paint the community's Unity Mural. In addition to her support for affordable housing and tenant protections, Diana has supported measures to address climate change, and is a strong supporter of public transportation improvements and of health care services for the entire community. Her Facebook page promotes community festivals and activities like Port Fest, coastal protection, Music on the Square, gun buyback and gun lock programs, and the Diane Howard clothing sale to benefit Kainos Home and Training Center. During the height of the COVID pandemic she supported city resources to aid families and to protect tenants from evictions. As Redwood city responded to business requests for COVID changes to ordinances, she generally supported them. At this point, it is easy to see why Redwood City Councilwoman Diana Reddy is a sunflower amidst a field of wildflowers. Wildflowers are beautiful, but sunflowers stand out. As one surveys the field, the eye fixes on the sunflower and its message: life is bursting forth. It is beautiful. It should be lived vividly. We thank her grandchildren Lahki Reddy and Ronan Gantes for allowing Diana to serve, no doubt sometimes at the expense of family time. As a proud advocate for working families throughout the area, and as a councilwoman, Diana Reddy stood out. Tens of thousands will never know the debt they owe her but, in a democracy, it is enough that the effort was made, that it met with a measure of success, and that the example now exists for all who follow in service to this community. Diana Reddy is leaving the official field of public policy. She will remain a sunflower as a private advocate because her remarks into a public microphone will always stand out. As in the past, so in the future, for when she concludes her remarks, thousands will utter a quiet ``thank you.'' l would like to say thank you, dear friend, for an extraordinary contribution to humankind.

Ms. SPEIER

Ms. SPEIER. Madam Speaker, I rise to recognize my friend and colleague school board trustee Marie Brizuela as she departs public service after forty-one remarkable years in elective office. As noted on the district's website, ``The Jefferson Elementary School District serves Pre-Kindergarten through 8th grade students from four contiguous areas in San Mateo County--the city of Daly City, the Town of Colma, unincorporated Broadmoor Village, and a small section of the city of Pacifica . . . the population of the four communities has a wide socio-economic, ethnic, and cultural diversity.'' Marie Brizuela is the ``Guardian in Chief of the School District.'' For forty-one years, she has been entrusted by her community with guiding the education of its students. She has been passionate in her advocacy during her entire time on the school board. During my service in the California legislature, Marie was a regular caller, letter writer and advocate for school funding. She knows the impact of every dollar sent by California to her school district. She is intimately familiar with California's complex laws on school finance, staffing and board governance. When you walk into a library and you can't immediately find what you want to locate, you go to the reference librarian. When you are elected to the state legislature and need to know something about the schools, you go to Marie Brizuela. The Kent Awards are a countywide award for innovative school programs. Her fellow trustees from San Mateo County routinely selected Marie as a member of the team that determined who would receive this annual, prestigious, award. Her fellow trustees selected her as a representative to the California School Boards Association. She was a member of the district's personnel committee, the member-parent involvement committee, and the executive board of the PTA. Marie is also an adult education teacher in a nearby district. She has also served as a member of the California School Employees Association and on its board. As if all of this was not enough, Marie has owned a dance academy and served as Wardrobe Mistress at St. Ignatius High School. It is unusual for a person to hold two elective positions but nothing about Marie is typical. Her neighbors in Broadmoor Village elected her to the Broadmoor Police Protection Commission and she served as Secretary of the Broadmoor Property Owners Association. She was president of the Friends of the Daly City Library, Secretary of the History Guild of Daly City, and Past President of Westlake Catholic Women and the Daly City Civic Ballet, as well as the Mission Merchants Association. Somewhere in this whirlwind of activity across more than four decades she also found time to be a wife and mother. I want to thank her husband, Robert, and her children Anna Marie, Robbie, Angela, and Andrea for their willingness to share Marie with the community throughout her time in public and volunteer positions. The community served by the Jefferson Elementary School District is composed of working and professional families who love the sense of belonging that comes with living in their neighborhood. Marie is a person widely regarded with respect and affection because she is singularly focused on building community. On most days, the fog of Daly City and Broadmoor reliably burns off or moves offshore and the sunshine arrives. Marie Brizuela reliably shows up and volunteers or raises her hand to be sworn into public office. Both the predictable weather and Marie are welcomed by residents as leading indicators that the community is operating well. We thank her for her friendship and the enormous respect she has shown to others through her willingness to sacrifice on their behalf. If she's taking a break at her age, it's only to allow others to lead. They would do well to follow her outstanding example.

Ms. SPEIER

Ms. SPEIER. Madam Speaker, I rise to recognize my friend and colleague the Honorable Giselle Hale as she concludes her service on the City Council of Redwood City. Serving from 2018 to the present, Giselle helped shape a remarkable period in Redwood City's history and development. Giselle had a lot of experience before joining the council. She was a planning commissioner for four years prior to her election, and during that time she strongly supported housing development in a city with explosive job growth. For example, she voted for the development of 131 townhouses at 1548 Maple Street. noting that, ``There are very few three-bedroom units and ownership opportunities, and I think it's a fabulous opportunity . . . [and it is] activating a part of the waterfront to make it a destination.'' Countless families. recently moved to town. have in part Giselle Hale to thank for their opportunity. n 2018, council candidate Hale's ballot statement said that, if elected, she would work hard to make streets safer, to ensure unmatched police and fire services, support local businesses, provide housing for all income groups, promote excellent schools, and increase childcare options. She also indicated that she would draw on her business experience, including nine years in global marketing and additional years in other positions, to keep the city fiscally strong. During the campaign she broke her foot while precinct walking. Unfazed, she went door to door using a knee scooter, and posted a video on social media to prove that she wasn't going to stop campaigning for any reason. In that election, she received the highest vote total out of three successful candidates at 12,723. In 2019, the city adopted a maternity leave policy at the same time that it required improved attendance by members of boards and commissions. Councilwoman Hale made the case for the policy. In 2020, she again worked with her colleagues, this time to create a city requirement for the installation of electric appliances in new construction. ``What are the biggest opportunities to slow down climate change?'' remarked Giselle. ``In terms of what the city can address, they fall into two buckets: transportation and buildings.'' The measure was adopted. When COVID hit, Councilwoman Hale supported a rent relief fund and changes to city ordinances and practices to support local businesses. Like so many others, she also worked hard to educate her two children. In August 2020, she wrote an opinion piece in our local newspaper advising adults to be kind to children as they went back to school largely online. She pointed out their losses of friendships and social time, and the impact the pandemic also had on teachers who were struggling with Zoom classes and uneven access by students to technology. During the early months of the pandemic, other problems in the community did not subside. Giselle urged developers to provide childcare for working parents and worked with allies across the county to find money to assist childcare providers as the industry suffered from COVID. In 2020, she worked to establish a safe parking program for people living in RVs, moving them off the streets and into mental health and other needed services. In 2022, Mayor Hale worked to end encampments along state rights of way and to bring people in from the cold. The county and city teamed up to purchase and renovate a hotel located close to a major encampment. A 240 bed county-led navigation center will soon open in Redwood City. Mayor Hale strongly supported the center. Also in 2022, the Mayors Mental Health Initiative, established by Mayor Hale and San Carlos Mayor Sara McDowell, was established to train residents across the county in ways to help neighbors experiencing a mental health crisis. Madam Speaker, serving on a city council is essentially a volunteer job. It's quite common to spend twenty or more hours per week on city matters, particularly when counting related meetings on regional agencies that inevitably oblige a councilmember to leave hearth and home to once again give back to the community. I want to thank Giselle's husband, Brian, and her two daughters, Lucretia and Vivienne, for allowing her to serve her constituents. Four years of solid success mark her time on the city council of Redwood City. Giselle will be able to point to her accomplishments for many years to come. I hope she remains involved in Redwood City. Her community can always use a great leader to ensure that it remains healthy and that it thrives.

Ms. SPEIER

Ms. SPEIER. Madam Speaker, I rise to recognize Laura Parmer-Lohan as she departs the City Council of San Carlos after serving in this position from 2018 to 2022. Her years of service span a remarkable chapter in the history of her community. When she took the oath of office in late 2018. the county of San Mateo had an unemployment rate of 2.1 percent. As she leaves office, the unemployment rate is 1.9 percent. Unemployment is generally a key indicator of the quality of life in a community. If a visitor from space judged community history from only those two numbers, they would think that nothing changed in the years that Laura served her neighbors. As we all know, one would have to be a visitor from space to have that point of view. Her colleague, Councilman Ron Collins, made this comment about the year 2020 when he served as Mayor and Laura served as Vice-Mayor. ``During that tumultuous year, Laura earnestly sought out community and business leaders to understand their COVID-related issues. She was then instrumental in securing the practical help we needed as neighbors and business owners.'' The record backs him up. Laura and her colleagues offered city financial support to businesses and residents, closed portions of the downtown to ensure the survival of restaurants, and adapted their plans on the go to accommodate as many needs as possible. A note within the city's 3rd quarter financial report of fiscal year 2019-2020 contains this historic understatement, ``The COVID-19 related emergency declared in mid-March began to affect revenue and expenditures towards the end of the third quarter, but the effects had little impact on the usual trends. The effects will primarily be seen in quarter four and beyond.'' Laura works in the private sector. To her that language was financial-speak for, ``Head for the high ground. A tsunami is coming.'' She and her colleagues ably guided city finances despite enormous uncertainty. San Carlos is recovering from the pandemic with strong finances. As city residents take stock of their high-quality police and fire services, beautiful parks, and restoration of much-beloved public events like Home Town Days and the downtown Art and Wine Festival, they can in part thank Laura and her colleagues for wrestling community success from the jaws of the COVID-19 alligator. Of course, her term of office should not be defined by the pandemic. Laura worked hard to establish a higher minimum wage, voted for affordable housing construction, and supported a plan for the city's eastside industrial area that will lead to the creation of thousands of life science and other high technology jobs over the coming years. She is a strong advocate for affordable childcare, voted to ban the sale of flavored tobacco in San Carlos, supported linkage fees to create community benefits from commercial development, and supported using city funds for gun buybacks. One colleague remarked that she also did a great job running city council meetings. If there was an Emmy Award for Zoom city council meetings that run on time and still hold the public's attention at 11 p.m. on a work night, Laura would accept in the role of best director, with appropriate recognition given to staff and her colleagues. Laura was born in West Virginia and raised in San Diego. She obtained her Bachelor of Arts Degree from the University of California at Santa Cruz and her MBA from the University of California at Berkeley. She and her family moved to San Carlos in 2011, and then deeply embedded themselves in the life of this small community. Laura's wife, Kathy, is the widely respected Executive Director of the San Carlos Education Foundation, and their two sons, Bradley and Gregory, attended local public schools. Laura can often be seen riding her bicycle around town. She is an avid athlete and her energy in public office reflects her stamina. She will soon have more time for her family and friends, a just reward after so many evenings donated for public benefit. We should all thank her family for their support of her service. Madam Speaker, John Denver memorably described Laura's birthplace, West Virginia, as ``almost heaven.'' We shouldn't put Laura on the spot to compare San Carlos to the Blue Ridge Mountains, but we're thankful that she and her family settled on Howard Avenue rather than on the banks of the Shenandoah River. Denver also sang that life is old in West Virginia. Proudly, San Carlos is quite young and vibrant. This also describes the spirit of Laura Parmer-Lohan. She is a public servant who in 2018 signed up for a volunteer job on a few nights a month. She ended up doing enormous overtime in defense of our lives and welfare for four eventful years. Job well done.

Ms. SPEIER

Ms. SPEIER. Madam Speaker, I rise to recognize Richa Awasthi as she leaves public service after four years serving the people of Foster City. In November 2018, Richa Awasthi was elected to the City Council. She ran on a platform of supporting public safety, preserving Foster City's high quality of life, and dealing with traffic and transportation issues. Foster City is a lagoon-laced community of almost 33,000 resting aside San Francisco Bay. Its residents enjoy a remarkably active life in its tine parks, sports fields, on the bay and lagoon, and throughout the year at various community events. Its schools are superb. During summer evenings in Foster City. the whole family can enjoy a walk along the levee and enjoy sweeping views of San Francisco Bay. Earlier that year, voters had approved Measure P, a $90 million bond measure to rebuild the levee to meet FEMA accreditation standards. Richa was a staunch supporter of this project. After joining the council, she was dogged in her insistence that the project remain on budget and that the city be transparent about the project. She and her colleagues grew concerned as estimates of project costs rose through the end of 2019 and early 2020, only to shrink substantially once the bids were opened in the early months of the pandemic. As the project got underway, she insisted that communication with the public be improved. Shortly after she was sworn in, the council agenda contained an item approving the purchase of 22 units of affordable housing in a new development. The price was $7 million. Richa voted to approve the purchase and therefore secured these units for working families. She has always been a strong supporter of affordable housing. For example, during her time in office. Richa supported a council action offering relocation assistance to 74 low-income households, many of them elderly, at Foster's Landing. In 2021, Richa and one other councilmember supported raising the minimum wage in Foster City to $15.50 per hour and then, beginning in 2022, to $16 per hour with an annual escalator based upon the regional consumer price index. The measure failed passage at the 2021 council meeting, but a revised measure was passed in 2022. In supporting these proposals, Richa indicated that the council needed to consider all community stakeholders including workers, employees, consumers and staff. She noted that, in her view, the city had the power to protect the most vulnerable. In her initial comments as Mayor, Richa noted the decline in the city's retail and restaurant businesses. She and her colleagues committed themselves to encouraging economic development and to strengthening ties with large businesses in the city. As COVID and other demands took their toll on city staff, Richa supported securing the services of the current city manager. Mayor Awasthi stated, ``Experience is one of the most important things for us. Having that experience, not just in theory, but actually demonstrating it as a manager . . . that was the number one thing.'' The current city manager has worked hard to recruit needed employees to the city and to keep major public works projects, such as the levee and rebuilding of the recreation center, on target. Foster City was developed in the 1970's and it owns quite a lot of infrastructure, including numerous bridges, a large lagoon system, pumps, and numerous parks that require a lot of maintenance. The recreation center was built in 1974 and is near the end of its useful life. Earlier this year. Mayor Awasthi was appointed by her colleagues to a three-person task force to select a construction firm for final approval by the council. Their recommendation, from amongst seven applicants, will set in motion the eventual construction of a new $55 million facility, dreamed about since 2016. Madam Speaker, as Richa Awasthi leaves public service, she has many things of which she may be proud. The city is thriving, and its finances are generally on a sound footing. Its parks remain outstanding, and the city sustained momentum on its levee project. Public services survived the pandemic, and the city made accommodations to its practices to support businesses. Responsible growth and provision for multiple income levels through the creation of affordable housing are widely held community values, and ones that Richa upheld during her council service. I hope that Richa will remain engaged in her community. We are all strengthened when the voice of experience is lent to resolving public issues. Whether from the dais or the audience, Richa will have that experience and the ability to influence Foster City's future for the better. I wish her all the best in the years ahead.

Ms. SPEIER

Ms. SPEIER. Mr. Speaker, this NDAA moves us forward in reforming the military justice system. We took sexual assault out of the chain of command last year in the NDAA. This year, we take sexual harassment out of the chain, and we require trained investigators who will investigate cases outside the brigade. Both are critical for the safety of military personnel because sexual harassment begets sexual assault. Suicide in the military is a crisis. This year, I visited bases in Alaska twice that were hit hard by suicide deaths. This bill expands the military and civilian behavioral health workforce. It authorizes cold-weather pay and offers each servicemember stationed in Alaska a paid trip home in 2023. We need to increase the pay of military childcare center workers. We have 19,000 families on waiting lists and are only using a third of the capacity in our facilities. This bill provides for a study. I hope we will do the right thing and make sure that these childcare providers are making more than those who are flipping burgers at the local restaurant. This bill also preserves crucial leave and paid travel for servicewomen who must go to another State to receive an abortion. Mr. Speaker, I urge support for this measure. I thank my committee and the personal staff.

Ms. SPEIER

Ms. SPEIER. Madam Speaker, I rise to recognize my good friend and colleague, Councilman Joe Goethals, upon his departure from the San Mateo City Council after nine years. He began his public service on the San Mateo Public Works Commission and as a Director on the Peninsula Health Care District Board. During his time on the council, he served on the Emergency Services Council, the Grand Boulevard Task Force, Peninsula Clean Energy, the San Mateo Consolidated Fire Department board, and the San Mateo County pre-Hospital Emergency Medical Services Group. He served as Mayor in 2019. When he first ran for city council in 2013, he noted that he was a prosecutor for the Alameda County District Attorney's Office, and that by that time he had already handled over 50 cases and appeared in court in 25 jury trials involving such violent crimes as murder, rape and kidnapping. Since then, he's worked in the offices of both the Alameda and San Mateo County District Attorneys. Today, Joe is in private practice as a trial attorney handling criminal defense, murder, sexual assault, wrongful death and personal injury cases. As a city councilman, prosecutor and defense counsel, Joe sees all sides of the criminal justice system. We live in special times when people question whether our nation will splinter and whether we can continue to live under one body of law. I want to take a moment to speak about Joe Goethals the attorney because from this discipline, combined with public office, he created an unusually authoritative perspective on public policy. In a 2020 Facebook post, he reposted an image of a man with a ball and chain and the word ``addiction'' on the ball, with the man reaching for a key that had ``hope'' as its name. In 2021, as protests broke out throughout the country Joe, his colleagues, and the Board of Supervisors established a pilot program teaming mental health professionals with police officers to help people in crisis. Joe noted at the time, ``More than half of the county jail are individuals suffering from some form of mental health issues. Interventions like this I support very much because (mental) health professionals are a proven solution to reducing incarceration in favor of treatment and diversion.'' His validation, coming from both a seasoned prosecutor and defense attorney, meant that residents of San Mateo could have an extra measure of assurance that public safety was enhanced by mental health interventions. To borrow a concept from our shared faith, Joe was teaching from the catechism of justice. As a councilmember, Joe Goethals was on the dais as San Mateo tackled some of its most difficult problems. The city has since initiated major public works projects to fix a flooding problem in the North Shoreview neighborhood, a major intersection problem at El Camino and Highway 92, and a significant deficiency in the city's sewage treatment system. During Joe's years on the council, thousands of new housing units were created, and the city cooperated with the county to establish at least two hotels as new shelters for the homeless. Joe and his colleagues spurred businesses towards financial health despite the pandemic by approving outdoor dining downtown. Born and raised in San Mateo, Joe grew up along Aragon Boulevard as part of a family of five children. He was outstanding in Little League and coached right through law school. For first through eighth grade, he attended St. Matthew's Catholic School, later moving to St. Ignatius College Preparatory High School in San Francisco, and ultimately attending Santa Clara University for both undergraduate and law school. Upon graduation with an undergraduate degree in Combined Sciences with an emphasis in microbiology, he was honored with the Santa Clara University Richard J. Riordan Award for Public Service. He actually has two graduate degrees, having attained a Master's in Public Health from San Jose State University before his J.D. degree. He served for five years in public health after his undergraduate studies. As a law student, he won the Honors Moot Court competition and a scholarship to Oxford University for the summer. Joe and his wife, Sharon, have three girls Samantha, Ellie, and Charlotte. Although they have lived in different locations in recent years, they have always called San Mateo home. It is time to bid adieu to a passionate advocate for sound government. America lost a champion Little Leaguer when Joe was forced to retire from coaching. It's losing a champion public policymaker as he steps away from elective office, hopefully for only a short time. Now, his family will regain the full-time attention of a loving father and husband. Life is both complete and expanding its joys for Joe Goethals, the boy from Aragon Boulevard who swung for the bleachers and hit a grand slam.

Ms. SPEIER

Ms. SPEIER. Madam Speaker, I rise to recognize Eric Rodriguez as he steps down from the San Mateo City Council after serving for five years and ten months, with one year as Mayor. Eric grew up in neighboring Belmont. Upon moving to San Mateo, he eventually served as his neighborhood's representative to the San Mateo United Homeowners Association and as a member of the Aragon Neighborhood Association Board of Directors from 2013 through 2016. In 2015, he was appointed to the planning commission, serving until 2017. In that year, he was elected to the San Mateo City Council. In his candidate's statement he argued for effective traffic planning to reduce gridlock, preservation of the neighborhood character of San Mateo, quality public safety and parks and recreation services, affordable housing and fiscal accountability. He received 6,266 votes. Nowhere in his candidate statement did the word ``COVID'' appear. Eric led San Mateo as Mayor from December 2020 to December 2021. These harsh times of pandemic required city services to be largely delivered remotely, city workers to support public health by arranging for testing and then early public vaccination sites, and an all-hands- on-deck approach to preserving public health. This included the difficult decision to enforce shut-down orders for public places. As the vital restaurant industry began to be devastated by the disease, Eric and his colleagues swiftly approved outside dining and offered financial support. When racial tensions rose because of actions in other cities that sparked nationwide outrage, Mayor Rodriguez spoke out on YouTube and stated that San Mateo stood united against hatred and all forms of racism. He also spoke in favor of the Police Athletic League (PAL), stating that building relationships between young people and the police was part of the solution to keeping fairness in the community. During his time in office, Eric was a strong advocate for affordable housing developments to reduce income inequality in San Mateo. To his credit and that of his colleagues, a city parking lot near Caltrain is now under construction. Kiku Crossing is a 7-story apartment building that will offer 225 homes for those earning low incomes, and a new publicly accessible parking garage. This development could have been contentious, but Eric and his colleagues spent many hours educating the public about the benefits of this project. Also begun during his term of office was a billion dollar+ upgrade to the city's wastewater treatment plant. It takes quite a bit of time to bring this kind of project to the stage of construction, but Eric and his colleagues supported an upgrade that is a credit to the objectives of the Clean Water Act and that will be a vital piece of public infrastructure for decades to come. In his private life, Eric is presently the CEO of a health information website that he co-founded. He serves on the Board of Directors of the Police Activities League and the Rotary Club of San Mateo. He is a graduate of the Stanford Graduate School of Business where he received his M.B.A., and the University of California at Berkeley where he received his Bachelor of Science degree. He and his wife Shirley have one child, son Tyler. Now that he is leaving public life, there will be more personal time to enjoy with his family. When the call of elective public service is made, most people turn a deaf ear. It then falls to a few to assume the reigns of authority, pursuant to endorsement via elections, and to bear the full commitment of time, energy and emotion on behalf of creating a better community for all. Eric Rodriguez answered the call, and the people of San Mateo are better because of his service. I wish Eric and his family wonderful times in the years ahead. In the coming years, as he leads Tyler through the community, he will be able to point and to say, ``Dad helped make that possible.'' I am certain that his son will be impressed, and perhaps another generation of public service will be born because of those moments. This is one of the chief ways in which American democracy sustains itself. From parent to child. From generation to generation. From local government to national. The accomplishments of all of us add up, and Eric Rodriguez's service is illustrative of this remarkable reality of democracy.