[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 151 (2005), Part 15]
[Senate]
[Page 20540]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




      RETIREMENT OF KEN BUECHE FROM THE COLORADO MUNICIPAL LEAGUE

 Mr. SALAZAR. Mr. President, I rise to note the retirement of a 
Colorado leader: Ken Bueche, executive director of the Colorado 
Municipal League. On September 30, Ken Bueche is retiring as executive 
director of the Colorado Municipal League, a statewide association of 
265 member cities and towns.
  Ken Bueche earned his undergraduate degree from Colorado State 
University and his J.D. and Masters in Public Administration from the 
University of Colorado. In 1963, Ken came to CML as a law clerk and by 
1974 rose to become the league's executive director, a position he has 
held now for more than 30 years.
  He has been a long-time believer that local governments are closest 
to the people and often produce the best solutions for local 
challenges. He has helped lead the way for Colorado municipalities to 
streamline local tax collections, shore up their pension funds for 
first responders, and in 1982 launched a feasibility study that led, in 
1982, to the establishment of a self-insurance pool that saves tax 
dollars and provides affordable insurance for cities, towns and special 
districts.
  Ken was the first recipient of the Leo C. Riethmayer Public 
Administrator of the Year Award from the University of Colorado. He has 
served on the Board of Directors of the National League of Cities and 
is considered one of the deans of the State municipal league executive 
directors corps.
  Ken and his wife, Bernice, have five children and four grandchildren. 
Finally, after more than 30 years of diligent service to the people of 
Colorado, touching virtually every one of their lives, he will be able 
to delve back into the joys of his family.
  I wish him all the best in his future, for he has given Colorado's 
cities and towns his very best for over three decades. He has been 
lauded as ``a quiet Colorado legend,'' and he will be missed by all 
those who have worked alongside him.

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