[Congressional Record Volume 158, Number 59 (Tuesday, April 24, 2012)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E631]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                     IN RECOGNITION OF TOM HUENING

                                 ______
                                 

                           HON. JACKIE SPEIER

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                        Tuesday, April 24, 2012

  Ms. SPEIER. Mr. Speaker, I rise to honor Tom Huening for his three 
decades of service to San Mateo County. As controller, county 
supervisor and community college district trustee, Tom has advocated 
for taxpayers throughout his career in public service.
  Tom has had successful careers in the military, the airline industry, 
real estate and public service. The common threads running through all 
of them are hard work and his hunger to learn.
  Tom was born in Chicago and grew up in Mount Prospect, Illinois as 
the son of an oil-burner servicemen and one of 12 children. He learned 
early on that the best way to overcome weakness is to confront it 
directly. Tom admits to having a fear of public speaking, yet he earned 
his Bachelor of Arts in speech from De Paul University in 1965. Right 
after he graduated, he joined the Navy for five years and was trained 
as a jet fighter pilot. His service in Vietnam made him experience the 
harsh realities of war, but he also credits that time for developing 
leadership skills, self confidence and skills as a team player.
  After his military service, Tom became a pilot for TWA and moved his 
family to San Jose which is when he first involved himself in politics. 
The city of San Jose and Caltrans were planning on turning a part of 
the Guadalupe River into a concrete channel to make room for the 
Almaden Expressway crossing. Tom and his neighbors formed a 
neighborhood association--with Tom as president--fought the idea and 
won. Caltrans and the city shored up the sides of the river and even 
built a bike path underneath the expressway. Reflecting on the success, 
Tom told a reporter from San Jose Magazine that it was his first taste 
of politics and what it can do for the common good.
  While he was still a TWA pilot, Tom started the transition into his 
next career, real estate. He worked for Coldwell Banker and then in 
1977 started his own business, Huening Investment Company, where he 
fixed up dilapidated commercial buildings. Along the way, he returned 
to school and earned an MBA from Pepperdine University and a bachelor 
of law degree from La Salle University. He is an inactive member of the 
California Bar Association and served as an arbitrator and mediator 
with the American Arbitration Association.
  In the late 70's, Tom transitioned from the private sector to public 
service. He was a Trustee on the San Mateo County Community College 
District from 1981 until 1986 and a member of the San Mateo Board of 
Supervisors from 1987 until 1998. Tom authored the original San Mateo 
Countywide Transportation Expenditure Plan which provided the county 
with 20 years of dedicated transportation funding for infrastructure 
and public transit improvements. He also is part of a leadership team 
who was responsible for bringing BART to Millbrae and SFO.
  Tom has led many initiatives to improve the well being and quality of 
life of residents, for example the county's smoke-free workplace 
ordinance, the requirement to label alcoholic beverages with warnings 
about fetal alcohol syndrome, the extension of popular trails, and the 
launching of charter schools to improve the performance of academically 
struggling schools.
  In 1998, Tom was elected San Mateo County Controller and re-elected 
for four consecutive terms. As a fiscal conservative, he believes that 
his office ``should be lean and responsive and add value to the County 
at the lowest taxpayer cost.''
  In addition to the contributions to San Mateo County, Tom served as 
President of the Bay Area Auditor-Controllers Association and on the 
Executive Committee of the State Auditor-Controllers Association. He 
has served the national Government Finance Officers Association on 
their Committee for Accounting, Auditing and Financial Reporting, their 
Economic Development and Capital Planning Committee and the Committee 
on Governmental Budgeting and Fiscal Policy.
  Tom is a member of the San Mateo Rotary, the Commonwealth Club and 
the Bay Trail Steering Committee.
  He is the proud father of four daughters and grandfather of nine 
grandchildren. In his well deserved retirement Tom will enjoy spending 
more time with them and his friends.
  Mr. Speaker, I ask this body to rise with me to honor my friend Tom 
Huening for his tireless dedication to our community on this day of his 
retirement as the San Mateo County Controller. He is an extraordinary 
person who possesses the qualities of a businessman, a humanist and a 
visionary. San Mateo County is a more efficient and better place 
because of his outstanding work.

                          ____________________