[Congressional Record Volume 155, Number 167 (Monday, November 9, 2009)]
[Senate]
[Page S11289]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                      TRIBUTE TO LORRAINE ANDERSON

 Mr. UDALL of Colorado. Madam President, I wish to pay tribute 
to a dedicated public servant, Ms. Lorraine Anderson, who on November 
9, 2009, is stepping down after 24 years on the Arvada City Council.
  Lorraine has been a dedicated public servant who has served her 
community of Arvada, CO, in innumerable ways and has developed a 
reputation across the Denver metropolitan area as a leader in the best 
tradition of bipartisanship and local government service. Her 
experience and influence have also been recognized at the national 
level.
  I got to know Lorraine while working on issues related to the cleanup 
and closure of the Rocky Flats nuclear weapons facility near Arvada 
when I was a Congressman representing this area of Colorado. While she 
was a strong advocate for a thorough cleanup of this site and a 
defender of the interests of Arvada, she also worked in a collaborative 
spirit that was informed by heavy doses of practical common sense. As 
many of my colleagues will recognize, these cleanups can be complex and 
the process full of acronyms and scientific jargon. Lorraine would make 
sure that regulators and State and Federal officials spoke to the 
public in plain English. She prized understanding and workable 
solutions in the very complicated process of securing local agreement 
on the cleanup process.
  She was a valuable contributor to this process and helped make it a 
success. It is the same approach that she brought to all of her public 
service work.
  Let me take a moment to highlight that work and her distinguished and 
impressive record. She served six terms on the Arvada City Council 
between 1985 and 2009 and served as mayor pro tem many times over the 
span of her time with the city. During this time, she also served on 
the Arvada Planning Commission, was a founding member of both the 
Arvada Clean Air Advisory Committee and the Arvada Economic Development 
Association, and served as a board member of the Forward Arvada 
Building Corporation.
  On issues affecting the Denver metropolitan area, she served on the 
board of the Colorado Municipal League from 1991 through 2005 and was 
the president of that board in 2000. She also served on the board of 
directors of the Denver Regional Council of Governments from 1991 
through 2007 and was chair of that organization in 2004. She served on 
the Regional Air Quality Council from 1993 to 1997 and was president of 
Colorado Women in Municipal Government from 1991 to 1993. And she 
served on the Rocky Flats Coalition of Local Governments and the Rocky 
Flats Stewardship Task Force Steering Committee.
  On the national level, Lorraine served on the National League of 
Cities board of directors from 2003 to 2005 and was a member of many of 
the league's committees, including Energy, Environment, and Natural 
Resources and the Clean Air Task Force, and was a board member of the 
Energy Communities Alliance.
  Lorraine is well-known throughout the Denver metropolitan region and 
is a tireless advocate for local governments in the metro area on 
growth policies, transportation, both highway and transit, public 
health, and environmental issues. She has not only worked actively and 
effectively with her local and State elected colleagues in the region, 
but she has also advocated and educated her constituents on the 
importance of their involvement in regional issues. She has been one of 
only a handful of women who have served on the Arvada City Council, and 
she is a role model for the community in this regard.
  In addition to her public service, Lorraine is the retired co-owner 
of Anderson Tire Service, Inc., and served as president of the Mountain 
States Tire Dealers Association in 1988, one of two women first elected 
to the board of directors and the first woman to serve as president of 
that organization.
  I know that the city of Arvada is sorry to see her step down. But I 
also know that she will likely stay involved in the important issues 
affecting her city, region, State and Nation. I wish her all the best 
in her future endeavors and thank her for her proud service to her 
community and Nation.

                          ____________________