[Congressional Record Volume 140, Number 148 (Wednesday, November 30, 1994)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]


[Congressional Record: November 30, 1994]
From the Congressional Record Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]

 
                       SALUTE TO COLLEEN TOY WHITE

                                 ______


                          HON. ELTON GALLEGLY

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                       Tuesday, November 29, 1994

  Mr. GALLEGLY. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor a selfless public 
servant who has devoted her life to locking up criminals as a 
prosecutor in Ventura County and who will now rely on this lifelong 
education in right and wrong, innocence and guilt, as a Justice on the 
Ventura County superior court.
  Colleen Toy White was born and raised in Wetumka, OK, but I like to 
think of her as a product of Ventura County because Ventura County was 
the home she chose for herself after adolescence and she has remained 
here for nearly her entire adult life.
  After graduating from Ventura College with a perfect 4.0 grade point 
average, Toy White went on to receive her law degree from Ventura 
College of Law in 1977, having by then already spent a year clerking 
for the district attorney's office.
  She then officially joined the DA's office as a deputy district 
attorney and she never left, working first in the misdemeanor trials 
division, then in consumer fraud and consumer mediation.
  Only 3 years into her career as a prosecutor, Toy White was appointed 
special assistant district attorney and charged with supervising 
special investigations, organized crime, and intelligence, heady stuff 
for someone who had only recently entered the legal world.
  But, as always, she was up to the challenge. Just 3 years later, in 
1983, she was appointed chief assistant district attorney, the second-
highest ranking position in an office with a staff of 500 employees and 
a budget of over $25 million. Many would be overwhelmed by that kind of 
a challenge. Toy White thrived on it.
  She has helped make the Ventura County district attorney's office one 
of the best in the State and the Nation through her hard work and 
partnership with District Attorney Michael D. Bradbury. She has also 
given back to the county and the local legal community through her 
membership in various charitable and philanthropic organizations and a 
willingness to teach others about the law in a wide variety of forums.
  The residents of Ventura County continue to enjoy a crime rate that 
is much lower than other areas throughout the State and Nation and Toy 
White is part of the reason. She has helped supervise a group of 
prosecutors who mean business when it comes to dealing with lawbreakers 
or consoling victims.
  When I heard that Toy White was interested in pursuing a seat on the 
superior court I could hardly think of a more perfect person for the 
bench. In short, she brings compassion and clarity to her new role and 
a breadth of legal knowledge and experience that others simply cannot 
match.
  I wish her all the best in the future and take heart in the knowledge 
that, in her new position, Colleen Toy White remains firmly entrenched 
on the fault line between good and evil in Ventura County.

                          ____________________