[Congressional Record Volume 150, Number 38 (Wednesday, March 24, 2004)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E439-E440]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                      TRIBUTE TO MR. HARRY THOMAS

                                 ______
                                 

                           HON. JIM McDERMOTT

                             of washington

                    in the house of representatives

                       Wednesday, March 24, 2004

  Mr. McDERMOTT. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to say that one person can 
make a difference. One person in Seattle who made a big difference is--
Mr. Harry Thomas--an unsung hero who has bettered the lives of 
thousands of people by advocating for safe and affordable housing.
  Mr. Thomas is about to retire from the Seattle Housing Authority, and 
his career of distinguished public service is worthy of special note by 
the Congress.
  Mr. Thomas served as executive director of the Seattle Housing 
Authority for 14 of the last 17 years. Under Thomas' leadership, the 
Authority won $136 million in federal grants which leveraged a total 
investment of $750 million to transform three World-War II era public 
housing developments--New Holly, Rainier Vista, and High Point--into 
vibrant new mixed-income communities.
  Prior to his work with the Seattle Housing Authority, Harry served as 
Deputy County Executive for King County, and as the Executive

[[Page E440]]

Director of Neighborhood House, a non-profit in Seattle. He also served 
as the Washington governor's staff director and special assistant for 
housing.
  In the Seattle area, Mr. Thomas served as a member of the Board for 
the Federal Home Loan Bank of Seattle, which he also chaired from 1995-
1998. He also serves as a member of the Seattle-King County Workforce 
Development Board.
  Harry's commitment to public service does not stop with his service 
to the Seattle area. In 2002, he served on the Commission on Affordable 
Housing and Health Care Facility Needs of Senior Citizens in the 21st 
Century, a Congressional Commission charged with evaluating the need 
for senior housing in the twenty-first century. He also serves as 
Secretary of the Executive Board for the Council of Large Public 
Housing Authorities and as President of the Housing Research Foundation 
Board, both organizations based in Washington, D.C. that focus on 
federal funding and policy for low-income housing.
  In recognition of his dedication and service, Mr. Thomas received the 
1999 National Council on the Aging Sidney Spector Award and the 1995 
Distinguished Alumnus Award from the University of Washington School of 
Social Work and Alumni Association.
  Harry, thank you for your life-time of public service to the greater 
Seattle community, and your tireless work to provide decent, safe 
housing for the area's low-income households.

                          ____________________