[Congressional Record Volume 165, Number 3 (Tuesday, January 8, 2019)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E17-E18]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                      HONORING MR. PETER ARRIGONI

                                 ______
                                 

                           HON. JARED HUFFMAN

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                        Tuesday, January 8, 2019

  Mr. HUFFMAN. Madam Speaker, I rise today in memory of Peter Arrigoni, 
who passed away on December 18, 2018, at the age of 87 after a lifetime 
of public service to his community.
  Born in 1931 in San Francisco, Mr. Arrigoni later settled in Fairfax, 
where his extended family had lived for more than 100 years. He

[[Page E18]]

graduated from St. Ignatius High School as an all-city athlete and 
attended the College of Marin where he was an all-conference halfback 
on the football team. After serving in the U.S. Coast Guard, where he 
attained the rank of second class petty officer while serving in the 
Korean War, Mr. Arrigoni finished his college education at the 
University of Arizona. He was an honor roll student and was once again 
named all-conference for football. After graduating with a degree in 
business and economics, Mr. Arrigoni started working as a stockbroker. 
During this time, he became involved in many volunteer activities. He 
was a little league coach, joined the Fairfax Park and Recreation 
Commission, and served on the Fairfax School District's site selection 
committee.
  As his passion for public service grew, Mr. Arrigoni ran for public 
office, and he was elected to the Fairfax City Council in 1964. He went 
on to serve as Mayor in 1966, and then decided to run for Supervisor in 
1968. He won that election and many more to keep his seat on the board 
of supervisors until he retired in 1976. During his tenure as 
Supervisor, Mr. Arrigoni led the way for historic planning policies 
that have protected West Marin's ranchland for decades. He was also a 
member of many community organizations such as the Golden Gate Bridge 
board, the county pension board, the Bay Area Pollution Control Board 
and the Association of Bay Area Governments. More recently, Mr. 
Arrigoni was honored by the Marin County Free Library for his dedicated 
leadership when the library's community room was named for him. Mr. 
Arrigoni also enjoyed membership with the St. Rita's Church Men's Club 
and Fairfax Parlor No. 307.
  Mr. Arrigoni was known to many in Marin County as a pioneer in 
helping to restructure local government and leadership to make the 
governing process more efficient and open to the public. He as been 
aptly described by many as being largely responsible for saving the 
true character and nature of Marin County by fighting against major 
wholesale developments and to protect open space preserves and canyons, 
which still exist today thanks in large part to his tireless work.
  On a personal note, I met Mr. Arrigoni in 1994 when I first ran for 
public office, a seat on the Marin Municipal Water District (MMWD). He 
was a strong environmentalist, and he was running the Marin Builders 
Exchange at that time. We came from different generations and political 
parties, but we became good friends. I will remember with fondness the 
tours he led for me of remote parts of the MMWD watershed where he used 
to go fishing and deer hunting as a kid. I could always count on him 
for a good joke, or an old political war story, or just some good 
cheer.
  Mr. Arrigoni is survived by his loving wife Pat, his sons James and 
Robert, his brother Robert, and one grandchild. While he will be 
greatly missed, Mr. Arrigoni's legacy will live on through the 
indelible positive impact he had on his community and beyond.

                          ____________________