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




                      TRIBUTE TO SANDRE R. SWANSON

                                 ______
                                 

                            HON. BARBARA LEE

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                       Wednesday, March 24, 2004

  Ms. LEE. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor a man who has set the bar 
for public service, working for over thirty years for the Congress of 
the United States, Sandre Swanson. On March 1, 2004, Sandre retired 
from congressional service. The 9th Congressional District salutes and 
thanks him for his three decades of tireless and spirited service.
  Sandre R. Swanson met Congressman Ronald V. Dellums, my predecessor, 
over thirty-three years ago. Ron, at that time, was a candidate for 
Congress, and Sandre was the Student Body President at Laney College in 
Oakland, California. Their first meeting was at an Oakland peace march 
protesting the May 4, 1970 shooting of four Kent State University 
students. This shooting ignited a national student strike that was 
unprecedented in the history of our country. Ron and other Civil Rights 
leaders were leading the march while Sandre was leading the Laney 
Student Body protest. Sandre, who was not acquainted with Ron at the 
time, was part of a group carrying a mock casket for the fallen 
students. He was so impressed by Ron's speech that day that he 
organized scores of students for the Dellums campaign.
  In 1971, Sandre was elected, via neighborhood balloting, as the East 
Oakland representative for the Oakland Anti-Poverty Board. He became 
one of the Board's most vocal Vice-Chairmen.
  In 1972, Wilson Riles Jr., who was the Northern California 
Coordinator for the historic presidential campaign for Congresswoman 
Shirley Chisholm, recruited Sandre to run the campaign's Advance Team. 
That was when I first met Sandre. I also recommended to Congressman 
Dellums that he hire Sandre as part of his congressional staff.
  On May 1, 1973, when Sandre was 24, Congressman Dellums asked Sandre 
to join the district office staff. During his tenure for the Dellums 
office, Sandre served as Aide, Staff Assistant, Press Secretary, and 
District Director.
  In the fall of 1976, judge Lionel Wilson, another significant mentor, 
asked Congressman Dellums to borrow Sandre to manage his campaign for 
mayor. With the assistance of Sandre as his Campaign Manager, Judge 
Wilson became Oakland's first African-American Mayor on May 17, 1977.
  On October 25, 1977, Mayor Wilson appointed Sandre to the Oakland 
Civil Service Commission, where he served with distinction as Chairman 
and Commissioner for two terms. The Commission's employee and union 
appeals caseload doubled under Chairman Swanson's leadership.
  In 1990, Congressman Dellums invited Nelson Mandela to Oakland, 
California following his release from a South African prison after 
twenty-seven years. A coalition of labor, community and church groups 
asked Congressman Dellums to grant Sandre leave so that he could serve 
as the Northern California Coordinator for the Nelson Mandela Freedom 
Tour. Working with the legendary Bill Graham and hundreds of community 
organizations, Sandre brought 60,000 people to the Oakland Coliseum in 
support of this celebration. To complete this historic event, he 
organized a fund-raising dinner in Oakland for 3,000 people. The 
committee gave the Free South Africa movement the largest contribution 
of the tour.
  In 1993, as a result of military base closures, Congressman Dellums 
asked Sandre to spearhead the congressional district's military base 
conversion effort. Sandre was the architect of the cross jurisdictional 
memberships on local reuse authorities in charge of military base 
conversion in Alameda County. He served as Vice-Chair of the Alameda 
Reuse and Redevelopment Authority and Commissioner on the Oakland Base 
Authority for five years.
  In 1998, when I took office, I hired Sandre as my District Director. 
On May 1, 1999, twenty-six years after I recommended that Congressman 
Dellums hire him, I appointed Sandre as my own Chief of Staff. As my 
most trusted advisor, he managed my Washington and Oakland offices.
  Sandre has served on countless boards and commissions. He has been 
the Chair and is currently a trustee for the Alameda County Employees' 
Retirement Association (ACERA). ACERA manages benefits for its retirees 
and makes the investment decisions for a 3.5 billion dollar pension 
fund. Sandre is also the Vice-Chair of the Alameda Golf Commission.
  After such distinguished and prestigious service to his community, 
Sandre retired from congressional service on March 1, 2004. I wish him 
continued success long into the future, and I also thank him for his 
outstanding contributions to this congressional district. I take great 
pride in joining Sandre's wife, Anita, and his children, friends and 
colleagues to recognize and celebrate the accomplishments and 
contributions of Sandre R. Swanson.

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