[Congressional Record Volume 164, Number 195 (Tuesday, December 11, 2018)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1642]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                    IN RECOGNITION OF KIRSTEN KEITH

                                 ______
                                 

                           HON. JACKIE SPEIER

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                       Tuesday, December 11, 2018

  Ms. SPEIER. Mr. Speaker, I rise to honor Kirsten Keith, a great 
community leader and personal friend, for her eight years of 
outstanding service on the Menlo Park City Council, two terms as Mayor. 
Kirsten decided to run for city council in 2010 during one the worst 
years of the Great Recession when the city and the region were in 
distress. Her willingness to step up to serve her community during 
tough times exemplifies her unwavering commitment and determination to 
help others.
  Kirsten was instrumental in steering Menlo Park's budget from 
deficit, due to the Great Recession, into recovery. She served on the 
Finance and Audit Committee and the Business Development Council 
Subcommittee and she represented Menlo Park in the Association of Bay 
Area Governments.
  She and her council colleagues hired now-former city manager Alex 
McIntyre to build a 21st century organization. Today, Menlo Park has a 
population of 34,000 people. Facebook, its largest employer with 15,000 
employees, moved to the city in 2011 when Kirsten was Mayor the first 
time. The city is also home to financial and investment powerhouses 
such as Intuit, numerous major venture capital firms, and the Stanford 
National Accelerator Laboratory.
  In recent years, the explosion in employment outpaced the 
construction of residential units and has led in part to our housing 
crisis and gridlock on our roads. Eighty percent of the traffic in 
Menlo Park neither begins nor ends within its borders. Kirsten has been 
a fierce advocate for affordable housing and improvements to reduce 
traffic congestion, notably supporting transit-oriented housing along 
the El Camino Real.
  Kirsten's tenure on the council is the continuation of more than two 
decades of public service and volunteering for numerous organizations 
in San Mateo and Santa Clara counties. She was appointed to the San 
Mateo County Commission on the Status of Women in 1996 where she served 
for eight years, two as chair. In 1997, she joined the board of the 
Legal Aid Society of San Mateo and continues to serve on the 
Fundraising Luncheon Committee. She served on the Community Mediation 
Services Committee, the Housing Committee and the Planning Commission. 
She also joined the boards of Bay Area Water Supply and Conservation 
Agency (BAWSCA), the Service League of San Mateo County, the City/
County Association of Governments of San Mateo County (C/CAG), 
Community Overcoming Relationship Abuse (CORA), the Dumbarton Rail 
Policy Committee, the County of Santa Clara Community Resources Group 
for Stanford University, the Grand Boulevard Task Force, and the San 
Francisquito Joint Powers Authority. She represents Menlo Park on the 
Caltrain Modernization Local Policy Group.
  As you can surmise from this long list, Kirsten's energy is 
inexhaustible. She is always the first to raise her hand to volunteer 
or tackle an issue--and she does it with a warm smile on her face.
  Kirsten earned her B.A. in Political Science at the University of 
California, Santa Barbara and her J.D. in Law with Public Interest Law 
Award from Golden Gate University, School of Law. As an attorney, she 
has practiced immigration and family law and has made it her mission 
for twenty years to defend indigent clients in criminal court.
  While Kirsten's time on the council is coming to an end, I know she 
will continue to stay engaged as a community leader and fight for 
justice and a better quality of life for all residents of our region. 
She will also have a little more time for her beloved husband John and 
daughter Claire and son Liam, who allowed Kirsten to spend countless 
hours in city council and committee meetings, serving the public.
  Mr. Speaker, I ask the House of Representatives to join me in 
thanking an outstanding community leader and colleague Kirsten Keith 
for her stellar service to the residents of Menlo Park. She can look 
back to 2010 when her hometown was crumbling under the pressure of the 
recession and feel proud that it is today a thriving city. Her 
contributions have left an indelible mark and will be felt for years to 
come.

                          ____________________