[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 152 (2006), Part 17]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page 22499]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                       TRIBUTE TO MRS. EEVE LEWIS

                                 ______
                                 

                          HON. LYNN C. WOOLSEY

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                       Tuesday, December 5, 2006

  Ms. WOOLSEY. Mr. Speaker, together with my colleague Congressman Mike 
Thompson, I rise today to recognize the outstanding career of Mrs. Eeve 
Lewis, the County Clerk-Recorder-Assessor-Public Administrator for 
Sonoma County. Mrs. Lewis has worked for Sonoma County for over 35 
years, rising from her starting position of Clerk Typist to win 6 
elections and serve a total of 7 terms as the County Clerk, during 
which time she has overseen and led numerous structural adjustments to 
the division of responsibilities in the county offices.
  Mrs. Lewis was born in West Germany, the daughter of an Estonian 
woman living in a displaced person's camp. Her family immigrated to the 
United States in 1950, and she cites the welcome and opportunity they 
found here as one of her primary motivations to enter a life of public 
service. She graduated with Bachelor's and Master's degrees trom Chico 
State and Sonoma State University, respectively.
  Mrs. Lewis was hired by Sonoma County in 1971, and transferred to the 
Clerk's Office in 1974. A swift series of promotions followed. She was 
appointed the Acting County Clerk 1977 when her predecessor died in 
office. She won her first election in a runoff and has since won 6 more 
terms in office. During almost 30 years as the elected Clerk of Sonoma 
County, Mrs. Lewis has presided over expansion and refinement of the 
responsibilities and jurisdiction of the office of the Clerk. By always 
approaching jurisdictional matters with an open attitude and a concern 
for the relevant statutes, Mrs. Lewis has guided a series of changes 
that have greatly benefited the government and people of Sonoma. By 
working closely with court staff, Mrs. Lewis straightforwardly 
organized the reapportionment of duties and streamlined costs when it 
became necessary to create a separate office to administer the county's 
court system. Similar structural adjustments in 2001 saw the Clerk's 
Office absorb the County Recorder's responsibilities and then the 
County Assessor's role. Through all of these changes Mrs. Lewis has 
carefully studied the new responsibilities assigned to her, and 
maintained the high standard of performance for which the Clerk's 
Office is known.
  In addition to her work in Sonoma County, Mrs. Lewis has been active 
in professional organizations around the state helping other counties 
emulate the success of Sonoma in developing and maintaining an 
effective Clerk staff. She is responsible for the development of a 
series of workshops to help train staff around the state, with the 
first of these meetings scheduled to take place this coming March. 
Additionally, she participated in a legal taskforce mandated to update 
confusing or outdated portions of California Code related to the duties 
of County and Court Clerks. All of these activities greatly contribute 
to a higher quality of governance throughout the State of California 
and represent a service to the people every bit as important as her 
work in Sonoma County.
  Mr. Speaker, we rise today to congratulate Mrs. Eeve Lewis on the 
occasion of her retirement after 35 years of service to Sonoma County, 
including a remarkable 28 years of capably guiding that office as the 
elected County Clerk. She will leave behind the finest organization in 
the state and a legion of admirers who valued the insight and care with 
which she approached her work.

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