[Congressional Record Volume 164, Number 200 (Wednesday, December 19, 2018)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1687]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




 UPON THE OCCASION OF THE DEPARTURE OF DONNA RUTHERFORD FROM THE EAST 
                         PALO ALTO CITY COUNCIL

                                 ______
                                 

                           HON. JACKIE SPEIER

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                      Wednesday, December 19, 2018

  Ms. SPEIER. Mr. Speaker, I rise to honor Donna Rutherford who is 
leaving the city council of East Palo Alto after a total of 25 years of 
service to the residents of her remarkable community. Donna is a steady 
voice of reason and a warm, committed person who welcomes all who enjoy 
her city's diversity, opportunity, and vitality.
  East Palo Alto is a city in the midst of great change. As a town of 
nearly 30,000, the community is at the crossroads of two major 
highways, deep in the heart of Silicon Valley. Donna Rutherford 
understands that the economic forces shaping East Palo Alto must not be 
allowed to change the diverse population of the community but instead 
be harnessed to create opportunity for all its residents.
  Central to opportunity is housing, and as a councilwoman Donna 
Rutherford advocated for and supported the construction of affordable 
housing for all populations. While Mayor, she approved of, and then 
joined in turning the ground for, a long-awaited senior project--
University Avenue Senior Housing. On the council, she consistently 
spoke about the need to develop the city's parcel on Weeks Street, a 
project that will come to fruition in the next few years thanks in part 
to her vote. She also supported the use of a city-controlled lot that 
will soon become a supervised, nighttime parking location for residents 
living in their recreational vehicles.
  Her dedication to opportunity did not begin with the council. As a 
school volunteer while her children were in elementary school, she 
attended school board meetings so frequently that some thought she was 
a district employee. She ran for the school board and was successful, 
serving from 1988 to 2000, including some of the most difficult years 
of school funding by the state.
  At one point, students approached the city council with a study 
showing that East Palo Alto had more liquor stores per capita than 
surrounding communities. The council took note, and Donna celebrated 
their investment of time and energy, noting years later that students 
have so much potential to make a difference. Liquor stores have 
gradually given way to a thriving retail center, a hotel and office 
complex and other improvements to East Palo Alto's quality of life.
  As a councilmember, Donna Rutherford represented the city on the San 
Mateo County Vector Control District board, as an alternate on C/CAG--
an agency formed from cities throughout San Mateo County, on the county 
library board, and the wastewater management board. She is also the 
city's alternate on numerous other important boards impacting the 
quality of life of residents.
  Mr. Speaker and Members, East Palo Alto is definitely a city on the 
move. It will miss the leadership of Donna Rutherford, but her moral 
authority and authentic voice of concern, filled with wisdom, will 
continue for many years to come. She once noted of her childhood 
neighborhood, Hunters Point, that she loved living near the bay. The 
winds sometimes blow hard across both Hunters Point and East Palo Alto, 
two communities with a vast bay shoreline, but the winds will never 
extinguish the will to serve that lives within the heart of Donna 
Rutherford. Donna Rutherford is a friend and colleague whose guidance I 
will miss as East Palo Alto continues to evolve. I know she will still 
be available to offer her sage advice.
  As she retires from the council, I wish her, her husband, Joe, and 
her children Trevor, Roxanne, and Damaris well in the years to come and 
we know that new adventures await this relentless leader of East Palo 
Alto.

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