[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 156 (2010), Part 15]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages 23408-23409]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                      HONORING STEPHAN PASSALACQUA

                                 ______
                                 

                           HON. MIKE THOMPSON

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                       Tuesday, December 21, 2010

  Mr. THOMPSON of California. Madam Speaker, I rise today with my 
colleague, Congresswoman Lynn Woolsey, to recognize and honor Sonoma 
County District Attorney Stephan Passalacqua, who is retiring after a 
22-year career as a County Prosecutor. For the past eight years, Mr. 
Passalacqua served as Sonoma County's elected District Attorney.
  As District Attorney, Mr. Passalacqua was instrumental in obtaining 
$1.4 million in grant funding and private donations to create the 
Family Justice Center of Sonoma County, which will be a lasting 
testament to his service to his community.
  He also hosted the first statewide Gang Summit and launched an 
educational gang prevention program in partnership with Boys and Girls 
Clubs. This was the first program in the nation to be taught by 
prosecutors.
  His other innovations included co-hosting a Sonoma County 
Environmental Awareness Forum, hosting multiple Elder Protection 
Summits, and partnering with community groups to host forums on 
Internet Safety, Identity Theft and Mortgage Fraud.
  He also initiated the first organized activities acknowledging 
National Crime Victims Rights Week in Sonoma County, which has now 
become an annual event. The hallmark of his tenure as District Attorney 
has been his insistence that victims are treated with respect and 
dignity. He continually worked to raise awareness of victims' rights, 
to help victims become survivors and to reduce and prevent 
victimization at the onset.
  He has served on several professional boards, including the Institute 
for the Advancement of Criminal Justice, the Board of Directors of the 
Sonoma County Bar Association, the Santa Rosa Mayor's Gang Prevention 
Task Force, and as a Professor of Elder Protection Law at Empire 
College School of Law.
  Mr. Passalacqua was born and raised in Sonoma County and he is firmly 
rooted in his community. In addition to his professional duties, Mr. 
Passalacqua has served on the Board of Directors of the Valley of the 
Moon Children's Foundation, the Rotary Club of Santa Rosa, the Advisory 
Board of Kidstreet Learning Center, the Board of Directors of the 
Community Support Network of Santa Rosa and as a mentor with Social 
Advocates for Youth.
  Madam Speaker, after 22 years of public service to the people of 
Sonoma County, Stephan Passalacqua deserves to enjoy the riches of this 
new phase of his life as a water and transportation consultant. We wish 
him well.

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