[Congressional Record Volume 154, Number 155 (Saturday, September 27, 2008)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E2072]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                         IN HONOR OF JOHN LAIRD

                                 ______
                                 

                             HON. SAM FARR

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                       Friday, September 26, 2008

  Mr. FARR. Madam Speaker, I rise today to recognize the service of a 
truly remarkable public servant. Assemblymember John Laird, who has 
represented the coastal portions of Santa Cruz and Monterey Counties in 
the California legislature for the last 6 years, will leave the 
legislature at the end of this current term as a result of term limits. 
I know I speak for the whole House, particularly my colleagues from the 
California delegation, in extending our gratitude and admiration to 
John for his Assembly service.
  In 2002, John was first elected to represent the 27th Assembly 
District, which I represented during my tenure in the Assembly. His 
constituents, including me, returned him to the Assembly in 2004 and 
2006 by overwhelming margins. Once in office, John quickly gained a 
reputation as a quick study of complex policy matters and a member who 
works with just about anybody in the Capitol. At the start of his 
second term in 2004, Mr. Laird joined the Assembly leadership team as 
chair of the Budget Committee, a position to which he won reappointment 
to in December 2006. As budget Chair, John was a key figure in working 
with the Governor and other legislative leaders in crafting the State's 
annual budget. Sometimes those other parties went along with John and 
the budget came in on time. Other times, those other parties departed 
from John's lead and delayed the budget's adoption. In each of these 
budgets, John left his stamp on the lives of Californians by fighting 
for reduced community college fees, K-12 education, and funding for 
transportation, park maintenance and foster care.
  During Mr. Laird's tenure, he authored a wide range of bills that 
were signed into law--to establish the landmark Sierra Nevada 
Conservancy, restore community college health services, and to expand 
and clarify State civil rights protections. In the 2006 session, he 
successfully authored bills to provide new protections for sea otters, 
help build a new veterans cemetery at the former Fort Ord, provide pay 
increases for park rangers and fish and game wardens, and support local 
affordable housing trusts.
  Raised in Vallejo and educated in Vallejo public schools, Mr. Laird's 
parents both were educators. They bequeathed to John a deep respect for 
public service and a passion for the Chicago Cubs. He graduated from 
UCSC's Adlai Stevenson College. He served on the congressional district 
staff of Congressman Jerome Waldie, was an analyst for the Santa Cruz 
County Administrative Officer, and was Executive Director of the Santa 
Cruz AIDS Project.
  In 1981, Mr. Laird was elected to a seat on the Santa Cruz City 
Council where he served until 1990. He was elected by the City Council 
to one-year mayor's terms in 1983 and 1987, becoming one of the first 
openly gay mayors in the United States. He served as an elected member 
of the Cabrillo College Board of Trustees from 1994 to his election to 
the Assembly in 2002. Thanks to the recent landmark decision by the 
California Supreme Court, John was able to marry his longtime partner 
John Flores.
  Madam Speaker, I can think of no better argument against California's 
legislative term limits than John's leadership and record. On behalf of 
the House, I want to wish John and his husband every happiness and urge 
him to continue his great record of service.

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