[Congressional Record Volume 168, Number 193 (Tuesday, December 13, 2022)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E1267-E1268]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                   HONORING COUNCILMEMBER JOHN SAWYER

                                 ______
                                 

                           HON. MIKE THOMPSON

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                       Tuesday, December 13, 2022

  Mr. THOMPSON of California. Madam Speaker, I rise today to honor John 
Sawyer of Santa Rosa, California in honor of his retirement and sixteen 
years as a council member and mayor.

[[Page E1268]]

  Mr. Sawyer was born in Santa Rosa, California. He graduated from 
Montgomery High School in Santa Rosa in 1973. He took over management 
of his family's business at age 21--Sawyer's News, a very popular 
downtown Santa Rosa news and magazine stand started by his great 
grandfather in 1936. Several years later he joined the Santa Rosa 
Downtown Development Association beginning his successful career of 
community and public service.
  In 2004, Mr. Sawyer was elected to the Santa Rosa City Council for 
his first term. He served from 2004 to 2012 and then another two terms 
from 2014 to 2022. In 2008, Mr. Sawyer was appointed mayor and served 
as the city's first openly gay mayor. He was appointed mayor again in 
2014. Mr. Sawyer worked tirelessly to secure the reunification of Old 
Courthouse Square. Santa Rosa's downtown square had been bisected since 
1966. Old Courthouse Square is now a popular hub for markets, 
performances, shows, and other community events. In addition, Mr, 
Sawyer led an effort to annex Roseland, a 700-acre island of 
unincorporated land, into the City of Santa Rosa. For decades, the 
Roseland community, a vibrant neighborhood with many Latino residents 
but with one of the lowest income levels in Sonoma County, had 
languished with limited access to vital services and poor 
infrastructure. Mr. Sawyer helped resolve this crisis of equity with a 
historic financial agreement that brought critical services to the 
7,400 new residents of Santa Rosa.
  Madam Speaker, I thank Mr. Sawyer for his selfless service and 
commitment to the people of Santa Rosa. His efforts have made Santa 
Rosa a more dynamic, diverse, and prosperous city. Therefore, it is 
fitting and proper that we honor him here today.

                          ____________________