[Congressional Record Volume 163, Number 2 (Wednesday, January 4, 2017)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E18]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                         HONORING MARINA FRASER

                                 ______
                                 

                           HON. JACKIE SPEIER

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                       Wednesday, January 4, 2017

  Ms. SPEIER. Mr. Speaker, I rise to recognize Marina Fraser for her 13 
years of exemplary public service on the Half Moon Bay City Council, 
including three years as mayor of this picturesque coastal town that I 
am very proud to represent in Congress. Marina has been a tireless 
advocate for coastside residents, in particular children and seniors. I 
am honored to have worked with Marina for more than a decade and to 
call her a close friend.
  During her tenure on the council, she served on the San Mateo County 
Council of Cities, the San Mateo County Joint Powers Authority, the San 
Mateo County Congestion Relief Alliance, the San Mateo County City-
County Association of Governments, the San Mateo County Emergency 
Operations Center, and the Sewer Authority Mid-Coastside.
  Marina was instrumental in restoring Half Moon Bay's fiscal health. 
The Great Recession combined with a multi-million dollar land use 
settlement put the city at the brink of bankruptcy. Through strategic 
decisions, collaboration and meticulous work, Marina and her fellow 
councilmembers managed to balance the budget and placed the city on 
solid financial footing. Today, Half Moon Bay is a thriving community 
and destination for people from all over the Bay Area and the country. 
Main Street is filled with a wide variety of small businesses and 
restaurants. It even features bike racks to make it user-friendly for 
bicyclists and pedestrians. Marina deserves credit for obtaining the 
funds for the racks.
  Soon, Half Moon Bay will have a state-of-the-art library, thanks in 
large part to Marina's tenacious work. First considered in 2000, Half 
Moon Bay finally celebrated the library's ground breaking this summer. 
It will provide much needed community space and bring Silicon Valley 
technology to the coast to prepare the next generation for 21st century 
jobs. It may be called the Half Moon Bay library but in my mind it will 
also be called the Marina Fraser Half Moon Bay Library.
  Marina also worked hard with my office and state and local agencies 
to replace the crumbling Pilarcitos Creek Bridge with a beautiful 
aluminum and cedar plank bridge in the winter of 2015 while she was 
mayor. She was one of many important negotiators in a very creative and 
complicated program that became locally known as the Three-Way Land 
Swap. It involved an exchange of properties between the City of Half 
Moon Bay, San Mateo County and Peninsula Open Space Trust and resulted 
in restoration of a recreation field, the creation of affordable senior 
housing, and the preservation of bluff tops as open space.
  You can surmise from these accomplishments that Marina, a learning 
and development consultant by training, is not afraid to take on 
difficult and large projects and to see them through. Marina is a 
person who doesn't give up. Even if she is defeated, she will try 
again. She first ran for the city council in 2001 and lost. I wrote her 
a letter encouraging her to run again, reminding her that Abraham 
Lincoln ran and lost many times before he succeeded. Sure enough, she 
won her seat on the council in 2003 and has served the residents of the 
coastside very well.
  In addition to her council duties, Marina is always looking for ways 
to give back to the community and improve the lives of others. She has 
created activities and services for youths and seniors and volunteered 
with Friends of the Library, the Half Moon Bay Spanish Town Historical 
Society, and the Cougar Boosters.
  Mr. Speaker, I ask the members of the House of Representatives to 
join me in honoring the public service of Councilmember and Mayor 
Marina Fraser on the Half Moon Bay City Council. While she may be 
leaving the council, her contributions will continue to shape life on 
the coastside for years to come and I have no doubt that she will 
remain an important voice in our community.

                          ____________________