[Congressional Record Volume 168, Number 194 (Wednesday, December 14, 2022)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1278]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




 RECOGNIZING THE DEPARTURE OF THE HONORABLE CAROLE GROOM FROM THE SAN 
                   MATEO COUNTY BOARD OF SUPERVISORS

                                 ______
                                 

                           HON. JACKIE SPEIER

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                      Wednesday, December 14, 2022

  Ms. SPEIER. Madam Speaker, I rise to recognize my good friend and 
colleague Carole Groom as she departs the San Mateo County Board of 
Supervisors after 13 years of service. The people of San Mateo County 
are losing a champion of children, healthcare, economic justice, and 
the environment.
  Carole began her public service career on the City of San Mateo's 
public works and planning commissions. She was appointed to the city 
council in 2000 and won election to a full four-year term in 2001. She 
twice served as Mayor. Carole and her colleagues skillfully guided the 
Bay Meadows development through public reviews and controversy, and the 
result is a spectacular 83 acres of mixed-use development adjacent to a 
major rail station. It hosts 1,250 residential units and 1.25 million 
square feet of office space. She also supported the overlapping Rail 
Corridor Specific Plan that covered the area from Hillsdale Boulevard 
to the old Kmart site. That plan produced hundreds of new housing 
units, retail and office buildings at the old Kmart shopping center, 
serving as a regional example to emulate. As an avid booster of 
downtown San Mateo, she coined the saying, ``If you can't find it in 
San Mateo, you don't need it.'' This remains an unofficial slogan of 
the city.
  Carole was appointed to the Board of Supervisors in 2009 and formed 
the first board with women in the majority. She won a full four-year 
term in 2010. These were the darkest days of the housing recession. In 
her first comments as a member, she noted that she wanted to continue 
her work on the county's budget deficit and universal health coverage. 
Carole's priorities also included protecting parks and open space.
  In 2009, she launched ``Active San Mateo County'' which convened an 
annual Fall conference exploring health and wellbeing, and that planned 
an annual countywide event, ``Streets Alive! Parks Alive!'' The 
county's parks and recreation directors recognized her with their 
``Champion of the Community'' award in 2012.
  Perhaps Carole's signature effort to boost economic justice in San 
Mateo County came through an innovative program known as ``The Big 
Lift.'' It was a big lift to consider a countywide program to increase 
the percentage of third graders reading at grade level from 58 percent 
to 80 percent, but Carole, her board colleagues and the county's 
superintendent of education took on the task. Key interventions 
included access to preschool, inspiring summer experiences, reducing 
chronic absenteeism, and increasing family engagement from preschool to 
third grade. The pandemic struck a blow to this noble effort, but it 
continues and undoubtedly paid off for thousands of children from 2013 
to 2020 when classes were greatly disrupted.
  Peninsula Clean Energy was the brainchild of Supervisors Pine and 
Groom. This countywide energy aggregator buys clean, renewable energy 
on the market and sells it to most businesses and households at 5 
percent below the rates of our local utility. We all search for ways to 
reduce the cost of living and to improve the environment. The two 
Supervisors found a remarkable way to do both, and today the agency has 
expanded its offerings to include grants for purchases of energy 
efficient appliances.
  Carole has deep roots in the health care system, having served as 
Vice President of Mills Peninsula Hospital for 18 years. She presently 
serves on the Board of Directors of the San Mateo County Hospital 
Board, the governing body for the San Mateo Medical Center. The 
hospital is a gem, and Carole Groom, as a skillful board member, is one 
of the finest jewelers in our community.
  In addition to her work on the Board of Supervisors, she serves as a 
member of the California Coastal Commission, the Bay Area Air Quality 
Management District, and on the board of our local transit agency, 
Samtrans. If it thrives on our coast, Carole protects it. If it 
pollutes the air, Carole opposes it. If it glides on big axels down the 
El Camino Real and gives essential mobility to the disabled, our 
working poor and the elderly, Carole celebrates it.
  Madam Speaker, we now say goodbye to a woman who everyone welcomes 
with joy when she walks into a room. We know that her heart was focused 
on policies that were fair and that protected the most vulnerable. It 
is said that on a clear day you can see forever. Carole saw the good in 
people, and her vision built a better life for millions over more than 
twenty years that she served our community and state. The woman who 
promoted reading to promote justice is now retiring. San Mateo County 
owes Supervisor Carole Groom its eternal appreciation. While she will 
be out of the limelight, Carole will remain in the hearts of all of us.

                          ____________________