[Congressional Record Volume 158, Number 20 (Tuesday, February 7, 2012)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E151]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                      HONORING HERB J. WESSON, JR.

                                 ______
                                 

                            HON. JANICE HAHN

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                       Tuesday, February 7, 2012

  Ms. HAHN. Mr. Speaker, during Black History Month, I rise today to 
honor Los Angeles City Councilman Herb Wesson, Jr., who has built a 
ground breaking career of public service at the city, county, and state 
levels of government in the State of California.
  Mr. Wesson made a significant contribution to contemporary Black 
History when he served as Chief of Staff in the office of Los Angeles 
County 2nd District Supervisor Yvonne Brathwaite Burke, the first--and 
only--African American female ever elected to the LA County Board of 
Supervisors.
  His first elected office came in 1998, when he was elected to the 
California State Assembly and was re-elected in 2000 and 2002. His 
colleagues in the California State Assembly--by a unanimous vote--
elected Mr. Wesson the second African American in the 162-year history 
of the State of California to serve as Speaker of the California State 
Assembly.
  After he left the Assembly, he was elected to represent the 10th 
Council District in the City of Los Angeles in 2005, capturing over 80 
percent of the vote. His City Council colleagues called him ``a 
consummate bridge builder.'' Last year, he was elected by his City 
Council colleagues--once again unanimously--to serve as President of 
the Los Angeles City Council, becoming the first African American to do 
so since Los Angeles was incorporated in 1850.
  On January 3, 2012, City Council President Wesson took office and 
presided over his inaugural meeting of the city council. My friend and 
former colleague, Herb, personifies the storied and triumphant history 
of the African American community not just in Los Angeles, but around 
our great Nation.

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