[Congressional Record Volume 141, Number 142 (Wednesday, September 13, 1995)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1773]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]


              TRIBUTE TO BEATRIZ VALDEZ ON HER RETIREMENT

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                       HON. ESTEBAN EDWARD TORRES

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                     Wednesday, September 13, 1995
  Mr. TORRES. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to pay tribute to a great 
public servant. Please join me in honoring Beatriz Valdez, who has 
earned the gratitude of the citizens of Los Angeles County for her 
tireless commitment to good government.
  Beatriz Valdez, the eldest of eight children to Maria Del Rosario and 
Miguel Valdez, graduated from Montebello High School and immediately 
obtained employment with the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors. 
Following the principles of punctuality and hard work, she quickly rose 
from the ranks of secretarial to administrative duties.
  Mr. Speaker, on July 1, 1957, Ms. Valdez began working for the 
county's Registrar-Recorders office. In 1975, Ms. Valdez was appointed 
to the position of Assistant Registrar-Recorder/County Clerk of the 
Elections Office and was responsible for the election functions of the 
department. Her duties included the nomination process, formatting the 
ballot, processing absentee voters and campaign statements, the 
official canvass, analyses of legislative proposals and public 
information functions. In 1984, she also was assigned to oversee the 
county's 3.6 million voter affidavit file and the processing of an 
initiative, referendum, recall and nominating petitions.
  On March 31, 1993, Beatriz Valdez was sworn in as Registrar-Recorder/
County Clerk and assumed the position as head of the largest election 
agency in the United States. She is the first Hispanic-American to hold 
this position since Ignacio Del Valle in 1850. She is responsible for 
conducting elections within L.A. County for Federal, State, and local 
offices, maintenance of an active voter registration program which 
includes a registration file of over 3.6 million and 4,000 voter 
outreach locations.
  Each year the department provides support services for over 200 
school, city and special district elections. Each major election 
requires the processing of approximately 275,000 voter registration 
forms, 500,000 absent voter requests, staffing over 6,100 precincts and 
processing over 500,000 petition signatures. Beyond her electoral 
duties, she is responsible for the recording of property documents 
within L.A. County, maintaining birth, death and marriage records, 
issuing marriage licenses and filing fictitious business names. Beatriz 
Valdez directs the annual budget of $60 million, the collection of $70 
million in revenue and staff resources of 700 permanent employees.
  Mr. Speaker, Beatriz Valdez is an extraordinary woman who I am proud 
to count as my constituent. The city of Montebello, the State and the 
Nation owe her a debt of gratitude. My colleagues in the House of 
Representatives salute her and wish her well in retirement.


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