[Congressional Record Volume 168, Number 188 (Monday, December 5, 2022)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E1213-E1214]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




 RECOGNIZING THE SERVICE OF MAYOR RICK BONILLA ON THE CITY COUNCIL OF 
                         SAN MATEO, CALIFORNIA

                                 ______
                                 

                           HON. JACKIE SPEIER

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                        Monday, December 5, 2022

  Ms. SPEIER. Madam Speaker, I rise to recognize my friend and 
colleague Mayor Rick Bonilla as his service on the San Mateo City 
Council comes to a close. Rick's record of accomplishment is 
impressive.
  Rick and his wife Suzanne first moved to San Mateo in 1991. From 1998 
to 2011, he was employed as a Field Representative by the Northern 
California Carpenters Regional Council. His time in public service 
began in 2001 when he was appointed to the Bay Meadows and 
Transportation Corridor Citizen's Advisory Committee. Bay Meadows was 
the largest redevelopment project in modern San Mateo history, and it 
was key to revitalizing the old site of Bay Meadows Racetrack. Rick 
offered his vision for land use and transportation, helping to shape 
the development into today's hub of high-tech industry, housing, local 
commerce, and recreation.
  In 2006, he was appointed to the San Mateo Public Works Commission 
where he served for six years. He was then appointed to the Planning 
Commission where he served until 2015 when he was appointed to the San 
Mateo City Council. He was elected to his full term in 2017.
  Rick Bonilla has embraced his public duties with vigor. For many 
years, he served as the council's representative on the Association of 
Bay Area Governments (ABAG, General Assembly). At ABAG, Rick sat on the 
all-important Regional Planning Committee. This committee established 
the methodology for determining each city's required housing allocation 
throughout the nine county San Francisco Bay Area. The numbers that 
arise from this methodology profoundly influence the cost of living for 
millions of Bay Area residents. Rick is a very strong advocate for 
housing, and also sits on the board of the Housing Endowment and 
Regional Trust (HEART).
  Peninsula Clean Energy is our local government agency responsible for 
buying electricity for nearly all businesses and residences in San 
Mateo County. Rick was instrumental in forming this agency and sits on 
its board. The agency is at the center of greening San Mateo County by 
offering rebates across many items that can be electrified, including 
vehicles and appliances, and by offering clean electricity at a price 
below that offered by our local public utility.
  Rick also represents the council on the San Mateo County Council of 
Cities, the San Mateo-Foster City Public Financing Agency, and is a 
board member and Vice Chair of the South Bayside Waste Management 
Authority. He sits on the Congestion Management and Environmental 
Quality subcommittee of the City/County Association of Governments, and 
on a subcommittee of the League of California Cities. He is also 
responsible for four internal council committee appointments and is the 
chief representative to my office from the San Mateo City Council.
  Now that I've listed Rick's committee assignments, let me take a few 
moments to speak about Rick Bonilla, the person. He is deeply dedicated 
to economic opportunity for all persons. Over the years, my staff and I 
have had countless conversations with Rick about opportunities for high 
school students to join the skilled trades, the need to build enough 
housing so that broad segments of the population could afford to live 
in San Mateo, racial justice, and the need to protect and promote 
democracy. Rick would regularly attend my town halls and illustrate for 
the public the connection between local decisions and national issues, 
providing insights that attendees would not otherwise receive. He also 
participated as a guest during one of my telephone town halls.
  Social justice is a particular passion for Rick. He is also dedicated 
to promoting public safety and ensuring that residents feel safe when 
interacting with the San Mateo Police Department.
  As he leaves the city council, Mayor Bonilla has a lot of 
accomplishments of which he may be proud. On all major issues impacting 
San Mateo for nearly two decades, he's played a role in creating the 
prosperous future that emerged from those choices. Whether it was Bay 
Meadows, bicycle paths, the minimum wage or investments in parks, 
police and the environment, Rick always asked whether the decision made 
that night would withstand the test of time. He is thus a remarkable 
leader, dedicated not only to those who currently live in San Mateo but 
to generations yet to come.
  I wish Rick Bonilla well in the years ahead. I know that his wife, 
retired special education teacher Suzanne Flecker, will want to get him 
out of their house because the man really has a lot of energy. I 
therefore look forward to seeing Rick around the Peninsula as he goes 
to public meetings, continues his volunteer work, and impacts San 
Mateo's civic life for years to come.

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