[Congressional Record Volume 168, Number 199 (Wednesday, December 21, 2022)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E1328-E1329]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




 RECOGNIZING MICHAEL O'NEILL UPON HIS DEPARTURE FROM THE PACIFICA CITY 
                                COUNCIL

                                 ______
                                 

                           HON. JACKIE SPEIER

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                      Wednesday, December 21, 2022

  Ms. SPEIER. Madam Speaker, I rise to recognize Mike O'Neill as he 
departs from the Pacifica City Council after ten years of dedicated and 
outstanding service. Before joining the council in 2012, Mike served on 
the Pacifica School District Board of Trustees for 14 years and on the 
Pacifica Planning Commission for six years. Mike's dedication to public 
service and his joviality will undoubtedly be missed by his colleagues 
and the public.
  It takes a special kind of individual to spend hours studying for, 
and being in, meetings to resolve thorny issues such as housing, 
transportation congestion, airport noise, disaster preparedness and 
education. Mike is one of those special kind of individuals. During his 
tenure on the council, he served on the Airport Community Roundtable, 
the Joint School District/Water District/City Articulation Committee, 
the Pacific Coast Television Board, the Peninsula Congestion Relief 
Alliance, the San Mateo County Library JPA, the Local Agency Formation 
Commission (LAFCO), and the City/County Association of Governments (C/
CAG).
  It's been my pleasure and honor to work with Mike and his fellow 
councilmembers on many issues. Mike is always looking for solutions and 
ways to collaborate and compromise. He has participated in several 
union contract negotiations and set spending priorities and managed 
budgets for his coastal hometown of 40,000 residents.
  Pacifica spreads along six miles of the Pacific Ocean. It's world 
famous as a surfing destination and offers spectacular open spaces for 
hiking. When you hike to the top of Sweeney Ridge you can take in an 
awe-inspiring view of the Pacific Ocean, Crystal Springs Reservoir and 
San Francisco Bay. From the bluffs of Mori Point and Pedro Point 
Headlands you can watch humpback whales frolicking in the water. 
Pacifica is a paradise for outdoor enthusiasts. However, the power of 
the ocean has also created challenges for the city. The pounding surf, 
coastal erosion and sea level rise have undermined and destroyed 
infrastructure. Mike, along with the council and city staff, have 
worked closely with my office to find funding to secure the seawall at 
Beach Boulevard and Esplanade Boulevard where buildings were literally 
crumbling into the ocean and had to be demolished.
  During the COVID pandemic lockdown, the beaches in Pacifica were a 
magnet for people from all over the Bay Area. So many people were 
flocking to the coast that the city had to restrict access. Those were 
difficult decisions during difficult times, but Mike and his colleagues 
were doing their best to keep people safe.
  Schools are front and center in Mike's life. In his day job, he works 
for the Jefferson Union High School District in Daly City. For 14 
years, he drove a school bus. If you have any doubt that Mike 
understands what teenagers are thinking about, think again. He just 
recently moved to Adult Education as a transition navigator in which 
capacity he helps adults with resumes, life skills and job

[[Page E1329]]

searches. He also served for 14 years on the Pacifica School District 
board where he focused on delivering the best possible education and 
learning environment for the students and teachers. His last vote on 
the school board was a vote to ``surplus'' the Oddstad school property 
so that it could be utilized better in the future. Seven years ago, 
plans to convert the property into workforce housing began. Mike was 
already on the city council and he pushed hard to get the plan 
approved. However, technical delays have been postponing the vote which 
is now expected in late January or February of 2022. While Mike will 
miss the vote by just about a month, Pacifica will not forget his 
leadership on the project. He was also instrumental in the creation of 
122 workforce housing units for the Jefferson Union High School 
District.
  Mike was born in San Francisco. He received his AA in Criminology 
from City College of San Francisco and his BA in Recreation from San 
Francisco State University. He has worked as a savings and loan branch 
manager, investment manager, and realtor in addition to his jobs at the 
Jefferson Union High School District.
  Mike and his wife Liz live in Pacifica with their middle daughter 
Siobhan. Their son Sean and daughter Alana have moved out and are 
building their own families. In his free time, Mike likes to barbeque 
and smoke meats, study history and play trivia.
  Madam Speaker, I ask the members of the House of Representatives to 
join me in honoring Mike O'Neill for his three decades of public 
service, ten of them on the city council. While he is leaving the dais, 
his fingerprints will remain on many Pacifica institutions. We thank 
him for his contributions and hope that we will still see him as Santa 
Claus during the annual tree lighting ceremony sharing a jovial ho, ho, 
ho.

                          ____________________