[Congressional Record Volume 159, Number 46 (Tuesday, April 9, 2013)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E399-E400]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                   IN RECOGNITION OF CLARK E. GUINAN

                                 ______
                                 

                           HON. JACKIE SPEIER

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                         Tuesday, April 9, 2013

  Ms. SPEIER. Mr. Speaker, I rise to honor Clark E. Guinan, better 
known as Gus, who is retiring after a remarkable legal and public 
service career that spanned over three decades. Gus was the City 
Attorney of the City of Burlingame for the last four years. His 
devotion to justice and the Bay Area are reflected in his work and 
passion for life.
   Gus, a native San Franciscan and third generation Californian, was 
raised in Los Altos. He enrolled in the seminary in Menlo Park at the 
young age of 13 and studied there through high school and college until 
he was 24 years old. He received his B.A. in Philosophy from St. 
Patrick's College.
   After eleven years in the seminary, Gus realized that he had a 
different calling. He wanted to follow in the footsteps of his 
grandfather who was his hero and a prominent attorney in the California 
Attorney General's office. Gus started law school and earned his J.D. 
from the University of Santa Clara.
   Upon earning his degree, Gus became a deputy public defender in San 
Joaquin County from 1974-1984. Then he accepted the position of Senior 
Assistant City Attorney in Palo Alto where he served for five years.
   In 1989, he faced a difficult decision. He and his wife Signe 
Harnett had adopted infant twin girls. They still lived in Stockton and 
the daily commute to Palo Alto would prevent Gus from seeing his two 
babies grow up. He left public service and became a litigation attorney 
with the law offices of Rishwain, Kakim and Ellis in Stockton from 
1989-1991. Gus' love for San Francisco drew the family back to the Bay 
Area and in 1991 they moved to Berkeley and he joined the law office of 
Barry Balamuth in Orinda.
   In 1993, Gus returned to public service and accepted the position of 
Assistant City Attorney for the City of San Rafael where he stayed 
until 2008 when he was appointed to his most recent position of City 
Attorney of Burlingame.
   Gus is a member of the Public Law Section of the California State 
Bar Association, the Bay Area City Attorneys Association, the Marin 
Public Agency Attorneys and an alternate board member of the California 
Joint Powers Risk Management Authority. In the past, he served as a 
delegate at the State Bar Convention in Sacramento, as a section editor 
of the Municipal Law Handbook of the League of California Cities and as 
a member of the board of governors of the San Joaquin County Bar 
Association. Gus has also lectured at the Delta Community College in 
Stockton and in the ``Bridging the Gap'' program. Last but not least, 
he has been a proud member of the San Rafael Elks Club since 2006.
   In his well deserved retirement, Gus is looking forward to spending 
more time with his wife of 25 years, their now 24-year-old twin 
daughters Kate and Lindsey and their stepson Chris. He will finally 
have more time to lose himself in his passion for California history, 
hiking, travel, photography, reading and swimming.
   Mr. Speaker, I ask the House of Representative to rise with me to 
honor Clark E. Guinan, a man with a brilliant legal mind and a big 
heart who has protected the rights and safety of the residents of 
Burlingame and other Bay Area communities.

[[Page E400]]



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