[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 154 (2008), Part 13]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page 17932]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




           IN RECOGNITION OF COLMA CITY MANAGER DIANE McGRATH

                                 ______
                                 

                           HON. JACKIE SPEIER

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                        Wednesday, July 30, 2008

  Ms. SPEIER. Madam Speaker, I would like to pay tribute this evening 
to a dedicated public servant, Diane McGrath, the City Manager of the 
Town of Colma.
  Diane retires next month, capping a 36 year career in municipal 
government, which began in Breckenridge, Colorado. She moved to 
California in 1985 to serve Foster City as Deputy Executive Director of 
the Community Development Agency. After seventeen years in that post, 
she was hired by Colma as Deputy City Manager and impressed the City 
Council enough to be promoted, two years later, to City Manager.
  During her tenure, Ms. McGrath and her staff oversaw the design and 
construction of a state-of-the-art public safety facility and community 
center, completed the reconstruction and beautification of Junipero 
Serra Boulevard and remodeled the Town Hall Council Chamber and 
rotunda. Most impressive is that all these projects were accomplished 
in an era of ever-tightening municipal budgets.
  Ms. McGrath is a member of the International City Management 
Association and was President of Municipal Management Assistants of 
Northern California. She received a Bachelor of Arts degree from 
California State University, Long Beach and a Master of Arts from the 
University of Colorado.
  Madam Speaker, Diane McGrath is a role model to anyone who aspires to 
a career in government. She handles her professional responsibilities 
with the unflappable grace that only the mother of 6 children and 
grandmother of 4 can pull off. A renaissance woman, Diane is a 
brilliant conversation partner, whether the subject is ballet, politics 
or Cal football.
  While I wish Diane McGrath could continue in her job forever, she has 
earned her retirement. Along with husband Fred Biagini, she will travel 
the world and spend more time with her large family. In addition, I am 
confident that she will continue to be a dynamic force in her community 
for many years to come.

                          ____________________