[Congressional Record Volume 144, Number 142 (Saturday, October 10, 1998)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E2021-E2022]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                     IN HONOR OF GREGORY A STRATTON

                                 ______
                                 

                          HON. ELTON GALLEGLY

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                        Friday, October 9, 1998

  Mr. GALLEGLY. Mr. Speaker, I rise to pay tribute to Greg Stratton, 
the man who was elected to the Simi Valley City Council in the same 
election as I, and who succeeded me as Mayor of the city I still call 
home. Greg's guidance as mayor for the past 12 years has kept Simi 
Valley a most extraordinary place to live, even as it has matured and 
endured its share of arrows and hardships.
  Greg was elected to the Simi Valley City Council in 1979, but his 
involvement in the community began long before that. Soon after he 
moved to Simi Valley, Greg began making a difference through his 
involvement in the Simi Valley Jaycees and his role in helping to found 
the Boys & Girls Club of Simi Valley. He served on the City 
Incorporation Study Committee and chaired a Neighborhood Council.
  In 1986, he was elected Mayor of Simi Valley. Under his leadership, 
Simi Valley has consistently been recognized as one of the safest 
cities of its size in the country. For the past 18 years, the city has 
also been recognized for the quality of its Financial Reporting program 
by the Government Finance Officers Association, a testament to Greg's 
reputation as a fiscal conservative, or--as some would say--tightwad.
  During his tenure as councilman and mayor, Greg was vital in 
preserving the community's hillsides and controlling residential 
development through the City's Hillside Performance Standards and City 
Council-initiated Growth Control Ordinance. Those balanced measures 
still allowed for residential and business growth in an orderly 
fashion.
  Greg also deserves credit for the construction of several new city 
facilities, including the City Hall in 1984, the Senior Citizens Center 
at about the same time, and a Transit Maintenance Facility for the 
city's bus fleet in 1989/90. A new, 53,000-square-foot, state-of-the-
art Police facility opened adjacent to City Hall this month.
  Greg was also instrumental in bringing other government services to 
Simi Valley and centrally locating them at the Civic Center. Among them 
are construction of a state Department of Motor Vehicles office in 1989 
and construction of a County courthouse in 1990.
  Also under his direction, the City's Sanitation Treatment Plant was 
expanded and was recognized by the State of California as ``Plant of 
the Year.''
  Being Mayor, however, does not mean just providing government 
facilities. A brand new facility for the Boys & Girls Club opened in 
1996 under his guidance. The Community

[[Page E2022]]

Methodist Church was restored and transformed in a 300-seat Cultural 
Arts Center in 1985. Amtrak passenger rail and Metrolink commuter 
services came to Simi Valley under his reign.
  New businesses have come in, providing a needed equilibrium in the 
community. Potholes have a short lifespan. Smut has been discouraged. 
Gang activity has decreased.
  Greg exhibited true leadership when a trial was thrust upon the 
community that threatened to unfairly soil its name and again when the 
Northridge earthquake devastated much of the city. It is a leadership 
that will be sorely missed.
  However, Greg's legacy will live on. In 1995, he launched the Vision 
2020 Project, a strategic planning process designed to lead the city's 
evolution well into the next millennium. It was launched as a community 
project, ensuring its endurance even as Greg moves on.
  Mr. Speaker, Greg is retiring from public office, but I have no doubt 
he and his lovely wife, Ede, will continue to make their presence known 
in all aspects of the Simi Valley community. I know my colleagues will 
join me in wishing him godspeed in any endeavors he wishes to tackle.

                          ____________________