Rep. Jackie Speier
Mr. Speaker, I rise to honor San Mateo County Supervisor Rose Jacobs Gibson upon her retirement from the San Mateo County Board of Supervisors.
While on the board, Supervisor Gibson initiated the East Palo Alto Crime Reduction Task Force, a collaborative effort between law enforcement and community groups. This effort successfully reinforced the accomplishments of her city service and led to the adoption of additional measures to reduce violence. Today, this task force stresses four strategies to create a healthier East Palo Alto: Prevention, Intervention, Enforcement, Sustainability. These are all strategies championed by Rose Jacobs Gibson and they include the activities of community clean ups, gang intervention, a Police Activities League, and a re-entry program for ex-offenders. East Palo Alto is a healthier place for all residents thanks to Rose Jacobs Gibson and her leadership.
Supervisor Gibson also continued her efforts to reduce crime by helping to create the Domestic Violence Council. The council is a permanent instrument to educate policymakers in our county about this critically important subject. She co-chaired the first Women's Criminal Justice Summit, a forum that identified many ways that existing resources could be used to improve the outcomes of our criminal justice system. She is a strong advocate for programs that prepare incarcerated women to lead independent, productive lives once they re-enter the community.
Supervisor Gibson sits on the board of the Housing Endowment and Regional Trust (HEART) of San Mateo County and is a policy leader in the development of affordable housing within our community. HEART has assisted in developing nearly every major affordable housing development in our county since its founding. Supervisor Gibson was instrumental in designing San Mateo County's housing element and can always be counted upon to advocate for the elemental right to decent housing for every human being.
Public health has always been a significant part of Supervisor Gibson's agenda. She initiated a countywide summit on health disparities, an event that led to the creation of several health-focused task forces. The task forces, in turn, identified strategies to reduce childhood obesity and drug and alcohol abuse. As one example of a brick-and-mortar impact in our community, the Ravenswood Family Health Clinic was founded in East Palo Alto as a result of a team of advocates, including most notably Supervisor Gibson. This facility is a linchpin in community healthcare in East Palo Alto.
Rose also served on the East Palo Alto City Council from 1992 to 1999. She was Mayor in 1995 and 1996. She and her many allies in the community were instrumental in reducing the crime rate and in helping to restore community faith in law enforcement.
While on the city council, Rose Jacobs Gibson supported the shutdown of a toxic chemical plant and as a member of the Board of Supervisors she demanded an investigation of toxic contaminants in our county parks. She regularly worked with our transportation agency to improve public transit for her district's residents and she worked as a member of a team of community leaders to secure funding and approvals for school improvements throughout her district.
Rose Jacobs Gibson will be remembered fondly in San Mateo County as a leader who was eloquent and forceful, gracious and principled, visionary and practical. San Mateo County has been the beneficiary of Supervisor Gibson's public service at so many levels and in so many ways that it is difficult to sum up the achievements of a lifetime in a single recitation of her accomplishments. I respectfully end these comments with a simple observation about Rose Jacobs Gibson: She has left her mark, and generations yet to come will live better lives because of her service.
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