[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 159 (2013), Part 1]
[EXTENSION]
[Pages 1516-1517]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




 HONORING JANICE ATKINSON, COUNTY CLERK-RECORDER ASSESSOR REGISTRAR OF 
                                 VOTERS

                                 ______
                                 

                           HON. MIKE THOMPSON

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                      Thursday, February 14, 2013

  Mr. THOMPSON of California. Mr. Speaker, I rise today, along with my 
colleague Jared Huffman, to recognize Janice Atkinson, who is retiring 
as county clerk-recorder assessor and registrar of voters.
  Janice Atkinson is a third generation Sonoma County native and comes 
from a long line of public servants. She began her public service 
career in election administration in 1972 with the Registrar of Voters 
Division of the County Clerk's Office. She worked her way up through 
the division, was appointed division chief in 1979 and assumed the 
position of assistant department head in 1995. She was elected to the 
position of County Clerk-Recorder Assessor of the County of Sonoma on 
June 6, 2006, and assumed office on January 8, 2007.
  Ms. Atkinson's primary area of expertise is in the field of election 
administration. As Assistant Registrar of Voters, she headed the 
division responsible for the conduct of all elections in Sonoma County 
including city, school

[[Page 1517]]

and special district elections. The division maintains the files of 
approximately 600 elected officials, 249,554 registered voters and the 
boundaries of all political subdivisions in the County.
  Under Ms. Atkinson's leadership, Sonoma County removed barriers to 
participation in the democratic process by administering a highly 
successful vote-by-mail program. In November 2006, Sonoma County's 
voter turnout of 75.49 percent exceeded the statewide average turnout 
by almost 20 percent. Sonoma County's high voter turnout can be 
attributed to the high number of permanent absentee voters in the 
County (roughly 52 percent of the registered voters) and the efforts of 
the department to keep the voter files up-to-date. Ms. Atkinson 
implemented an accessible voting system for voters with disabilities, 
all while maintaining paper-based voting systems, assuring voter 
confidence in elections.
  Ms. Aktinson was an active member in the California Association of 
Clerks and Election Officials from 1976-2012. She served on the board 
of directors from 2002-2012, as Correspondence Secretary from 1988-2011 
and as a member of the County Recorder's Association of California from 
2001-2012. She also was a member of the California Assessors' 
Association from 2007-2012 and the Bay Area Assessor's Association 
2007-2012, serving as its president in 2010. She has been a member of 
the Sonoma County Historical Records Commission since 2000 and is 
recognized throughout the state for her knowledge of the California 
Elections Code and voting procedures.
  Ms. Atkinson is a longtime supporter of the Cloverdale Boys and Girls 
Club and served as the lead public information officer for Sonoma 
County during disasters, providing vital information to those impacted 
by floods, mudslides and fires.
  Mr. Speaker, Janice Atkinson has a long and distinguished career in 
service to Sonoma County and it is therefore appropriate that we 
acknowledge her today and wish her well in her retirement.

                          ____________________