[Congressional Record Volume 166, Number 212 (Tuesday, December 15, 2020)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1152]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]





                 IN HONOR OF CATHERINE ``CAT'' CARLTON

                                 ______
                                 

                           HON. JACKIE SPEIER

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                       Tuesday, December 15, 2020

  Ms. SPEIER. Madam Speaker and members, I rise today to recognize 
Catherine Carlton, known as ``Cat'' by her community, for her eight 
years of service on the city council of Menlo Park. It's been a 
remarkable time for this native of Tarrant County, Texas, who 
eventually made her way west to lead her dynamic community astride San 
Francisco Bay.
  Catherine graduated with a Bachelors in Rhetoric and Public 
Communications from Tulane University and received her MBA at the Cass 
Business School in London where she was president of her class and 
graduated with Deans Honors. She worked in Hong Kong for 10 years for, 
among others, Equant and for a company that she founded and managed--
Search Bank. During her global business career, she has worked at eight 
different companies.
  Menlo Park is a community of 35,000. Its daytime population swells by 
thousands as high technology employees stream into globally competitive 
businesses, including Facebook. After moving to town, Catherine became 
immersed in her new community.
  Catherine was appointed to the parks and recreation commission in 
2009 and served until elected to the city council in 2012. She joined 
as the Great Recession and its impact on city finances ebbed. In 2012, 
local measure K passed. It increased the hotel occupancy tax. 
Ultimately, these revenues and others made possible upgrades to the 
city's parks and libraries, among several other worthy initiatives 
supported by Catherine.
  With the explosive expansion of Facebook and other high technology 
companies, Catherine and her colleagues were repeatedly called upon to 
guide the community's growth so that it did not overwhelm residents. 
For example, when a major project at Willow Road and Highway 101 
commenced, Catherine and the council tried to ensure that it concluded 
as quickly as possible. It was a huge thread-the-needle project with 
long lines of cars slowly snaking in various directions over many 
months. While the end result is a great interchange, Catherine spent 
many hours of council time listening to nearby neighbors. She and her 
colleagues worked hard to reduce negative impacts when possible.
  During her time on the council, Catherine represented Menlo Park on 
twelve regional committees or agencies. These included the Peninsula 
Clean Energy Authority, C/CAG, the Airport Community Roundtable, and an 
ad hoc council committees on parking.
  She is a passionate advocate for local businesses. Now, with the 
pandemic restricting many downtown merchants, Catherine and her 
colleagues are adapting Menlo Park so that dining in downtown streets 
is possible. Pedestrians and bicyclists (walking their bikes) support 
restaurants and merchants.
  We often hear the expression, ``Out of the frying pan, into the 
fire.'' It would be simple to describe sitting on the Menlo Park 
council from 2012 to the present in those terms given the yin and yang 
of long-running explosive job growth followed by pandemic-induced 
restrictions. However, this would be an incomplete picture. Many 
wonderful things happened over the past eight years under Cat's 
leadership and guidance.
  The city is revitalized with longtime vacant lots on the El Camino 
Real sporting new office buildings. Parks are refreshed, the libraries 
upgraded, and long-needed infrastructure investments were made. Crime--
never a significant problem in Menlo Park--remains low. Issues related 
to community-wide planning were dealt with. The city's schools remain 
strong and its families treasure the environment, including its 
bayfront park and tree canopied streets.
  A mother of two young children, Catherine and George, Cat helped run 
her daughter's Girl Scout troop and volunteered with AYSO. She was the 
vice president of her homeowner's association and served on the board 
of the Vista Center for the Blind and Visually Impaired. She 
volunteered as an after-school tutor. Her volunteer work for the Junior 
League led to her support of Project Read, Foster Families and HIP 
Housing. She was a board member and past president of the Las Lomitas 
Education Foundation. She worked with state legislators on legislation 
to address human trafficking and domestic violence. In all, she served 
as a volunteer with over nine nonprofits or associations dealing with 
local and state subjects touching youth, women, and quality-of-life 
issues.
  Catherine Carlton has played an important role in all of these 
achievements. Now she, husband Robert Ridenour, and their children will 
have more time together. This is likely welcomed by everyone in the 
family after years of her intense dedication to neighbors and to the 
future of the community that she loves. I was honored to know and to 
work with Catherine Carlton, and I wish her all the best in the years 
ahead.