[Congressional Record Volume 153, Number 98 (Monday, June 18, 2007)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E1328-E1329]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                   TRIBUTE TO SANTA ROSA, CALIFORNIA

                                 ______
                                 

                          HON. LYNN C. WOOLSEY

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                         Monday, June 18, 2007

  Ms. WOOLSEY. Madam Speaker, it is with great pride that I rise today 
to share with my colleagues the recent selection of Santa Rosa, 
California, the largest city in my district, as a 2007 All-America 
City. The honor was recently bestowed upon Santa Rosa by the National 
Civic League, and is considered to be the most prestigious community 
recognition competition in the United States today. Santa Rosa was 
honored for its exemplary community vision, collaborative problem-
solving and the ability to meet local challenges. I have represented 
Santa Rosa for the past 14 years and these characteristics are just the 
beginning.
  In order to win this prestigious award, a broad and diverse 
delegation of Santa Rosa public officials and business and community 
leaders represented Santa Rosa against 20 other community finalists 
from across the country. The delegation presented not only their 
innovative programs, but the local solutions they have implemented, 
before to a jury of their peers from across the United States. The 
delegation from Santa Rosa included the following members of the 
community:
  Bob Blanchard, Mayor, City of Santa Rosa; Jane Bender, Councilmember, 
City of Santa Rosa; Jeff Kolin, City Manager, City of Santa Rosa; 
Michael Frank, Assistant City Manager/Administrative Services, City of 
Santa Rosa; Patricia Fruiht, Assistant to the City Manager, City of 
Santa Rosa; Mark Ihde, Retired Sonoma County Sheriff & President and 
CEO of Goodwill Industries--Redwood Empire; Rhuenette Alums, Area 
Director, AT&T Roberta Atha, Administrative Technician, City of Santa 
Rosa; Neil Brady, Senior Maintenance Worker, City of Santa Rosa; Judy 
Daugherty, Risk Management Analyst, City of Santa Rosa; Michael 
Friedenberg, President, Arts Council of Sonoma County; Jesse Guerrero, 
Artstart Apprentice; Vince Harper, Director, Youth & Neighborhood 
Services, Community Action Partnership; Mo McElroy, Director, Santa 
Rosa Convention & Visitors Bureau; Juan Meza, After-School Program 
Participant; Ernesto Olivares, Police Lieutenant and Manager, Gang 
Prevention & Intervention Services, City of Santa Rosa; Rosie Rojas, 
After-School Program Participant; Crystal Tsutsui, After-School 
Programs Volunteer/Chaperone; Mario Uribe, Creative Director, Artstart; 
Steve Velasquez, Program Director, Hope Works Santa Rosa; Patricia 
Wilburn, Production Specialist, Community Media Center Chandra 
Woodworth, Artstart Apprentice; Donna Zapata, Operations Manager, 
Hispanic Chamber of Commerce.

  During their presentation the delegation was able to share the 
achievements of three Santa Rosa's programs that serve as outstanding 
examples of public-private partnership to solve address community 
concerns:


                    Santa Rosa Downtown Arts Program

  The Santa Rosa Downtown Arts Program brings a wide range of arts and 
cultural programming into the downtown area to strengthen the 
community's image and sense of place, increase cultural unity and 
stimulate economic development. The program creates an arts hub that 
draws people downtown to live, work, and play, which encourages 
development and increases downtown business. The Downtown Arts Program 
has a three-prong approach: (1) Physical Environment--Artists design 
sculptures, informational kiosks, benches, light poles and news racks. 
Art facilities, studios, galleries, and exhibition spaces are a 
priority. (2) Cultural Programming includes diverse

[[Page E1329]]

music, dance, theater, film, and literary arts. (3) Sustainable 
Resources--Leadership and funding from public and private sector 
guarantee the program's strength and growth.


         Measure O Public Safety Quarter-Cent Sales Tax Measure

  A quarter-cent public safety sales tax measure was placed on the 
November 2004 ballot, which came to be known as Measure O. The measure 
generates approximately $7 million per year for Police, Fire, and Gang 
Prevention and Intervention efforts. The ordinance set up a citizen 
oversight committee and has strict rules preventing any ``supplanting'' 
of existing services or funding in the General Fund. This project has 
allowed significant progress to be made in vital areas at a time when 
core public safety was threatened.


                   Mayor's Gang Prevention Task Force

  Four years ago, the city of Santa Rosa took aggressive steps to 
address the rise of local gangs. The city began with a public outreach 
campaign to educate the community on the growing threat, and followed 
that up with trips to other cities where staff and policy leaders were 
able to learn from their programs. In addition, the Mayor became 
actively involved by establishing the Gang Prevention Task Force in 
order to confront the issues and the risk to youth. The Task Force 
consists of policy leaders from throughout Sonoma County, school 
officials, law enforcement and officials from non-profit and social 
service organizations. In addition the move was not a drain on existing 
public resources, and was primarily funded by a quarter-cent sales tax 
measure that dedicates 20 percent to gang prevention and intervention 
measures.
  While the Santa Rosa delegation brought home the top honors, every 
member of the delegation was able to learn from the other finalists. As 
a result they have returned to Santa Rosa, not only energized, but 
armed with fresh ideas to improve their community. I am very proud of 
their achievement, Madam Speaker, and invite all of my colleagues to 
visit this lovely community in the Sonoma County wine country just 
north of San Francisco.

                          ____________________