[Congressional Record Volume 169, Number 162 (Tuesday, October 3, 2023)]
[House]
[Page H4954]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                        HONORING CINDY MONTANEZ

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Chair recognizes the gentleman from 
California (Mr. Cardenas) for 5 minutes.
  Mr. CARDENAS. Madam Speaker, I rise today to honor a true champion of 
the San Fernando Valley, a trailblazer, a leader, ``y una de las 
nuestras,'' ``and one of ours,'' the Honorable Cindy Montanez from the 
city of San Fernando.
  Cindy and I have had the privilege of representing the northeast San 
Fernando Valley for the past 27 years. Cindy is a strong, unwavering 
community leader who, throughout her years of public service, has made 
sure that the voices of the people of the valley are heard and that 
they have a seat at the table.
  Cindy has lived a quintessential American immigrant story, just like 
the monarch butterfly. They are bicultural and bring beauty everywhere 
they go.
  She is the proud daughter of Miguel and Margarita Montanez, 
immigrants from Veracruz and Chihuahua, Mexico. The Montanezes came to 
the city of San Fernando, where Cindy and her five siblings were born 
and raised. Together, her family pursued the American Dream, a dream 
that includes giving back to the community and the country that has 
given us so much.
  Cindy's activism began in 1993, as she pushed to establish the 
Chicano studies department at the University of California, Los Angeles 
by participating in a 14-day hunger strike.
  At the age of 25, she won a seat on the San Fernando City Council, 
and 2 years later, she became the mayor of that city. Her exceptional 
leadership extends to the California State Legislature, where Cindy was 
the youngest woman elected to the California State Assembly at the age 
of 28 at that time. At the age of 30, she became the first Latina to 
chair the powerful assembly rules committee.
  She fought for workers' protections, consumer rights, and healthcare 
access. Out of these accomplishments, what Cindy is best known for is 
her environmental work.
  She continued her environmental activism to become the CEO of 
TreePeople, one of the largest environmental organizations in all of 
southern California. With over 3 million volunteers, they planted 
hundreds of thousands of trees, from San Fernando to Huntington Park.
  In 2020, she was called back to her role in public service. She 
returned home to serve as a councilmember for the city of San Fernando.
  Cindy is a titan who has worked tirelessly for her community. It is 
an honor to stand before you today to tell Cindy Montanez' story. I am 
not the only one highlighting her and her accomplishments. Last month, 
the city of San Fernando and the city of Los Angeles voted to rename 
Pacoima Wash Natural Park, which is shared by both cities, to Cindy 
Montanez Natural Park.
  On August 28, the California State Legislature declared January 19 as 
Cindy Montanez Day.
  These distinctions are well deserved, built on years of tireless 
service.
  I just saw Cindy when I had the privilege to join our community in a 
celebration to rename Cindy Montanez Natural Park. Cindy was surrounded 
by dozens and dozens of community members, full of love and prayer. It 
was a beautiful tribute to a hero in our community. For all of this and 
more, I honor my friend and my ``hermana,'' ``sister,'' Cindy Montanez.
  Every time I see a monarch butterfly, I will think of the impact she 
has had, from the tree-lined streets of San Fernando to the committee 
rooms of Sacramento and all across our great State of California.
  I had the pleasure of meeting Cindy Montanez when she was running for 
city council 28 years ago. I remember her coming into my office and 
saying some of her supporters had abandoned her, and I listened to what 
she had to say. I stood up and said: ``I will support you. What I see 
in you is someone who is running for the right reasons. You care about 
the community.'' She said thank you. That is where she launched her 
career in 1995.
  Sometimes in life we meet people and never know where our journeys 
are going to go, but I am so honored to have called Cindy Montanez my 
colleague and friend. I am so honored to be able to witness one of the 
first people who got elected to the State legislature out of our 
community of the San Fernando Valley who could speak to every 
constituent both in Spanish and in English. That had never happened 
before in our community, even though our community of northeast San 
Fernando Valley was over 75 percent Latino by population, parents like 
Cindy's parents and my parents who came from Mexico to make a better 
life for the next generation and the next.
  Once again, it is my honor to speak before all of you in this 
beautiful House about an amazing, beautiful person, Cindy Montanez.

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