[Congressional Record Volume 151, Number 45 (Friday, April 15, 2005)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E666-E667]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




         HONORING BERKELEY CITY COUNCILMEMBER MARGARET BRELAND

                                 ______
                                 

                            HON. BARBARA LEE

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                        Thursday, April 14, 2005

  Ms. LEE. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor the life and work of 
former Berkeley City Councilmember Margaret Breland of Berkeley, 
California. Serving the people of West Berkeley first as a private 
citizen and then as a public servant, Margaret devoted most of her 
adult life to improving conditions in a community she saw to be 
underrepresented and often overlooked. Margaret retired from the 
Berkeley City Council in November of 2004, and after a long battle with 
breast cancer, passed away on April 7, 2005.
  Though Margaret was originally from Beaumont, Texas, she spent the 
majority of her life in Berkeley after moving there as a child with her 
family. The oldest of four children, she was counted on by her mother 
to help run the household. After graduating from Berkeley High School, 
Margaret became a licensed vocational nurse, an occupation in which she 
served for 27 years.
  Margaret retired early from her work as a nurse to care for her 
mother in the late 1980s, but became increasingly involved in community 
and public service activities at Liberty Hill

[[Page E667]]

Missionary Baptist Church, where she was a member. As chairperson of 
Liberty Hill's scholarship committee, she raised thousands of dollars 
every year to ensure that every church member attending college 
received at least $1000 in financial assistance.
  Margaret also made sure that members of her church remained informed 
through her work and that of others who served on the congregation's 
Christian Social Concern Committee. One of the ways in which Margaret 
first became known to the public in Berkeley was through spearheading 
the ultimately successful campaign to install a traffic light at Ninth 
Street and University Avenue, an effort aimed at protecting children 
crossing the street on their way to and from the church. Margaret 
continued to advocate for the safety of children and others in her 
neighborhood not only through her work at Liberty Hill, but also as the 
chair of both the Human Welfare Action Committee and the West Berkeley 
Neighborhood Development Corporation and through here involvement with 
the West Berkeley Area Plan Committee, the West Berkeley Community 
Cares Services Bank and the Community Advisory Board.
  After several years of advocating on behalf of the residents of West 
Berkeley, in the mid-1990s Margaret decided to seek public office, and 
was elected as the District 2 representative to the Berkeley City 
Council in 1996. In her first term, she secured over one and a half 
million dollars in funding for projects and facilities located in her 
district, working to make up for funding gaps that she felt had long 
been ignored. Regardless of the challenges she faced, Margaret worked 
tirelessly to provide affordable housing, access to healthcare, police 
and fire protection resources and support for youth in her district. 
Though she struggled with her illness for much of the second half of 
her time in office, she remained steadfastly committed to serving her 
constituents, demanding daily briefings and making efforts to go to 
City Hall even as her condition and treatments diminished her physical 
strength. Margaret's devotion to serving her constituents earned her a 
reputation as a candid and straightforward representative of the 
people, someone who was truly dedicated to serving as a voice for those 
without the means to advocate for themselves.
  On April 15, 2005, Margaret Breland's life and legacy will be honored 
at her own Liberty Hill Missionary Baptist Church in Berkeley, 
California. It is with great sorrow but also with great pride that I 
add my voice to all those that have joined together today to pay 
tribute to Margaret and the spirit of selflessness that she embodied. 
Margaret's commitment to and concern for others set her apart as an 
elected official and as a human being. The generosity that led her to 
serve others throughout her life is an inspiration to all of us to 
follow her example in giving back to our communities, our country and 
our world.

                          ____________________