[Congressional Record Volume 157, Number 5 (Wednesday, January 12, 2011)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E47]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                        IN HONOR OF PAUL OYASKI

                                 ______
                                 

                        HON. DENNIS J. KUCINICH

                                of ohio

                    in the house of representatives

                      Wednesday, January 12, 2011

  Mr. KUCINICH. Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to bring to your attention 
the 33-year public service career of Paul Oyaski who is retiring from 
his post as the Director of Cuyahoga County's Department of Development 
on January 14, 2011.
  Director Oyaski has directed with distinction the Department of 
Development since 2004, leading a staff of 62 in Ohio's largest county 
which serves all the people of Ohio's 10th Congressional District and 
surrounding districts. He has administered federal funding from the 
U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development through the Community 
Development Block Grant (CDBG) program for 51 Cuyahoga County 
municipalities with fewer than 50,000 residents. His department has 
managed a $75 million budget supplemented by the CDBGs, the American 
Recovery and Reinvestment Act, the Department of Energy, and the 
Environmental Protection Agency. Through Paul's leadership, the people 
of Cuyahoga County were served ably and the federal dollars we 
appropriated were used wisely and with the people's needs first and 
foremost on the agenda. During his tenure as Director, he received 
numerous awards from the public and private sectors.
  Prior to his service at the county level, Paul Oyaski served as the 
Mayor of Euclid, Ohio from 1996 to 2003. As mayor of a city with a 
population of 53,000, Mayor Oyaski became familiar with the 
administrative responsibilities associated with the CDBG program. He 
led Euclid to receive the Livable Cities Award from the U.S. Conference 
of Mayors in 2000 for positive race relations. He was also spokesman 
for the First Suburbs Consortium which represents Euclid and 14 other 
inner-ring suburbs of Cleveland.
  Before his election as Mayor, Paul Oyaski served the City of Euclid 
with distinction as a member of the City Council, the Director of 
Community Services and Development, and as Law Director. Paul graduated 
from the Ohio State University School of Law with honors, earned his 
Bachelor of Arts Magna Cum Laude from Cleveland State University, and 
is a proud graduate of Euclid Senior High School where he was a member 
of the National Honor Society and received his letter for varsity 
soccer.
  Mr. Speaker and honored colleagues, please join me in wishing Paul 
Oyaski well as he retires from a long and illustrious career in the 
public sector working with the people of his hometown of Euclid, and 
Cuyahoga County for these many years.

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