[Congressional Record Volume 164, Number 35 (Tuesday, February 27, 2018)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E236-E237]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                    HONORING CRECENCIO CRUZ PADILLA

                                 ______
                                 

                           HON. JIMMY PANETTA

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                       Tuesday, February 27, 2018

  Mr. PANETTA. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor the memory of a 
lifelong LULAC member and community activist of the Central Coast 
community, Crecencio Cruz Padilla.
  Born in Mexico City, Mr. Padilla arrived in Monterey County in 1953 
and worked as a farmworker for Driscoll's Berries. During the 1960's, 
Castroville's Head Start Program hired Mr. Padilla as a Community 
Liaison where he had an opportunity to work with farmworker families. 
Education was very important to Mr. Padilla, and he decided to take 
part-time classes at Hartnell College focusing on criminal law. That 
experience led him to advocate

[[Page E237]]

for community members accused of committing crimes. Mr. Padilla went on 
to become an investigator at the Monterey County Public Defender's 
Office in 1974 where he worked until his retirement in 1997.
  Mr. Padilla was also a pioneering civil-rights activist in Monterey 
County. In 1972, he founded the North Monterey County Chapter of the 
League of United Latin American Citizens, a civil rights advocacy 
organization. Mr. Padilla, alongside Cesar Chavez, was also a strong 
supporter of the United Farm Workers in their fight for unionization.
  Mr. Padilla spent his life fighting to help those in the community of 
little means. In one account, Mr. Padilla demanded that the city of 
Salinas form a police review board after a string of officer involved 
incidents. Mr. Padilla also helped community members in generous ways 
that did not make headlines. He defended a countless number of people 
and was known to take in families he found without shelter at the 
courthouse. In 2012, the League of United Latin American Citizens, the 
La Raza Lawyers Association, and the Alisal Betterment Association 
dedicated a Lady Justice statue at the National Steinbeck Center in 
honor of Mr. Padilla's work. Mr. Padilla's legacy as a passionate 
advocate for his community will stand the test of time.
  Crecencio Padilla's legacy is defined by his dedication to his family 
as well. His children remember him as ``an amazing father and 
husband,'' who gave love and support to all his family. He was a role 
model for his family and the Central Coast community. His legacy will 
live on in the memories of those of us who had the honor to know him. 
Mr. Speaker, I ask that my colleagues in the House join me in honoring 
Crecencio Padilla.

                          ____________________