[Congressional Record Volume 163, Number 114 (Thursday, July 6, 2017)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E946]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                  ON THE RETIREMENT OF DIANE GRIFFITHS

                                 ______
                                 

                            HON. KAREN BASS

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                         Thursday, July 6, 2017

  Ms. BASS. Mr. Speaker, today I congratulate Diane Griffiths on a long 
career of service to the State of California, and on her retirement on 
June 1, 2017.
  Diane Griffiths served many years as chief of staff to my friend and 
former colleague in the California legislature, Robert Hertzberg, 
including during his two terms as the 64th Speaker of the California 
Assembly, as well as after his election to the California Senate. As a 
former Speaker myself, I know how vital a role the Speaker's chief of 
staff plays in the success of each legislative session and the 
legislature overall. Diane worked diligently to keep herself informed 
on the substance of a wide range of issues, while also handling the 
myriad management tasks involved in the running of an operation as 
complex as a legislative leadership office.
  She has worked in the Legislature in many different roles and handled 
a broad range of policy, legal and administrative issues. Senator 
Hertzberg describes her as ``the consummate chief of staff'' and 
praises her for always striving to help others to be as effective as 
possible.
  Previously, Diane served as chief of staff to the University of 
California Board of Regents. She was also General Counsel to 
California's Fair Political Practices Commission. A graduate of the 
Boalt Hall School of Law at the University of California, Berkeley, she 
clerked for the California and Alaska Supreme Courts after graduation.
  Diane will be missed, but I appreciate the decades of service that 
she gave to the citizens of California and I wish her all the best in 
her new endeavors.

                          ____________________