[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 159 (2013), Part 10]
[House]
[Page 15064]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                HONORING GEORGE ZENOVICH AND PETE MEHAS

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Chair recognizes the gentleman from 
California (Mr. Costa) for 5 minutes.
  Mr. COSTA. Mr. Speaker, we have seen a great deal of political 
posturing and speeches over the last several days. I think it is time 
that we get our priorities straight and pass a clean budget that 
reopens this government. I think the American public is, frankly, sick 
and tired of the blame game.
  I also believe that many of my Republican friends are distracted with 
issues that are important, but are not central to the question of 
funding government. We can debate the issue of the Affordable Health 
Care Act, as we should, but it is not central to reopening government.
  Today, I would like to talk to you about two public servants from my 
neck of the woods, the San Joaquin Valley, who put their community 
first and delivered results. Sadly, in the last week these two 
individuals have passed away and we say good-bye to them. But I want to 
use their examples as role models because I think their commitment to 
public service, to the people of the San Joaquin Valley in California 
and our Nation, is a good example. One was a Democrat and one was a 
Republican. Both were widely respected; and they never, ever let 
partisanship or ideology get in the way of solutions.
  George Zenovich and Pete Mehas were the best our Valley had to offer, 
especially on how they conducted their lives. Pete Mehas, from a Greek 
immigrant family, was a pillar of our education community in the Valley 
for almost 50 years. From the time he entered the classroom in 1963, he 
was bound for leadership and changed the lives of countless 
individuals. He realized the special challenges of students in our 
Valley and those throughout the State and he made their voices heard.
  His passion was recognized by Governor George Deukmejian, who 
appointed him as his chief adviser relating to all matters involving 
education. Pete served also under Governor Pete Wilson and Governor 
Arnold Schwarzenegger and, ultimately, President George Bush when he 
was appointed to the advisory commission on educational excellence for 
all Americans.
  Knowing that strong schools require strong communities, Pete wanted 
to see Fresno prosper and develop into a thriving business hub. From 
cofounding Leadership Fresno, to sitting on the Valley Business 
Conference Executive Board, to serving as the president of the Fresno 
County Athletic Hall of Fame where he was enshrined, Pete invested his 
time in the community and the city he loved. For 16 years he served as 
the superintendent of Fresno County Schools where he represented 34 
school districts, 325 schools, and almost 200,000 students.
  He was a loving husband, a proud father, and a distinguished alum of 
Fresno State. He was part of the 1961 Mercy Bowl team that was a 
national champion. So it is with a heavy heart that we say good-bye to 
this man who dedicated his life to making the future of others 
brighter.
  Another individual whom he worked with and whom I worked with was 
also a pillar of our community and that was George Zenovich. George was 
a man who lived his life with purpose and a dedication to public 
service. Born in 1922 of a Slavic family, he was a product of our 
Valley. He served in the United States Army Air Force. He was student 
body president at Fresno State.
  Later on he enrolled in law school after he married the love of his 
life, Kika. Upon completion of his degree, he quickly built a strong 
professional reputation and served in the California Assembly beginning 
in 1962. Later on he became the majority leader, before taking a seat 
in the California State Senate.
  His impact as a senator was far-reaching, from creating the 
California Arts Council, to the California Housing Authority Finance 
Agency, to authoring the first law in the United States that gave farm 
workers a chance at collective bargaining through the Agricultural 
Labor Relations Board. He was an advocate for those voices who 
sometimes got lost in the political banter.
  In 1979, George was appointed by Governor Jerry Brown to be on the 
court of appeals. In 2008, Fresno's new Fifth District Court of Appeals 
building was named after him, the George Zenovich Court of Appeals 
Building, for his lifetime practice of fair and sound jurisprudence. 
George was a shining example of what a public servant should be and 
never lost sight of those in the community he served.
  Both of these people put their community first. I worked with both 
George and Pete for years, and they were not only my friends, but they 
were friends of the Valley they loved and the State they called home, 
California.
  My colleagues, Mr. Speaker, I think it is time for all of us in this 
body to live up to the memory of these two shining examples, people who 
we have all worked with throughout our lives, and I think in the true 
tradition of public service these are the kind of individuals we ought 
to have as role models when fixing our Nation's budget and putting 
government back to work.

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