[Congressional Record Volume 168, Number 193 (Tuesday, December 13, 2022)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1265]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




        TRIBUTE TO THE HONORABLE RYAN COONERTY ON HIS RETIREMENT

                                 ______
                                 

                           HON. ANNA G. ESHOO

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                       Tuesday, December 13, 2022

  Ms. ESHOO. Madam Speaker, I rise today to honor the work of Santa 
Cruz County's Third District Supervisor, Ryan Coonerty, who is retiring 
after serving two terms as a Member of the Santa Cruz County Board of 
Supervisors.
  Ryan Coonerty has a long and distinguished history of public service. 
He served twice as the Mayor of the City of Santa Cruz, and was first 
elected to the Board of Supervisors in 2014. He hosts a podcast, An 
Honorable Profession, and co-founded NextSpace Coworking and 
Innovation, serves as a lecturer on law and government at U.C. Santa 
Cruz, and co-wrote The Rise of the Naked Economy.
  As a Santa Cruz County Supervisor, Ryan worked to create affordable 
housing, expanded public safety programs, voter access and family 
health. He is a respected leader on environmental issues and opposed 
offshore oil and gas drilling. He is a steadfast supporter of women's 
rights and LGBTQIA+ equality, and an advocate for local immigrant 
families.
  Supervisor Coonerty has been a leader on the Board of Supervisors in 
bringing forward proposals to address post CZU Fire issues, such as the 
creation of the Office of Response, Recovery and Resilience, initiating 
a debris clearance process, and more recently, addressing permitting 
and rebuilding challenges. While the fire was burning, he put out an 
email newsletter almost daily to keep residents informed.
  Ryan and I have worked together on North Coast issues, especially 
balancing tourism with control over traffic, noise, and trash. He 
helped set up the North Coast Multi-Agency Working Group, which I'm an 
ex-officio member of.
  Ryan has received many honors, among them his selection as a Rodel 
Fellow in Public Leadership by the Aspen Institute as one of ``the 
nation's most promising young elected officials''. He was honored as a 
Community Hero by the Red Cross of Santa Cruz County, and Advocate of 
the Year by the United Way of the County.
  Ryan Coonerty is a graduate of the University of Oregon's Clark 
Honors College, the London School of Economics, and earned his law 
degree from the University of Virginia. He and his wife Emily reside in 
Santa Cruz with their children Daisy and Kellan.
  Madam Speaker, I ask the entire House of Representatives to join me 
in thanking Ryan Coonerty for his exemplary service and wishing him 
every blessing in the next chapter of his life. Because of his superb 
leadership we are a better community and a stronger country.

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