Recognizing the Departure of the Honorable Laura Parmer-Lohan From the City Council of San Carlos

Floor Speech

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Ms. SPEIER. Madam Speaker, I rise to recognize Laura Parmer-Lohan as she departs the City Council of San Carlos after serving in this position from 2018 to 2022. Her years of service span a remarkable chapter in the history of her community.

When she took the oath of office in late 2018. the county of San Mateo had an unemployment rate of 2.1 percent. As she leaves office, the unemployment rate is 1.9 percent. Unemployment is generally a key indicator of the quality of life in a community. If a visitor from space judged community history from only those two numbers, they would think that nothing changed in the years that Laura served her neighbors. As we all know, one would have to be a visitor from space to have that point of view.

Her colleague, Councilman Ron Collins, made this comment about the year 2020 when he served as Mayor and Laura served as Vice-Mayor. ``During that tumultuous year, Laura earnestly sought out community and business leaders to understand their COVID-related issues. She was then instrumental in securing the practical help we needed as neighbors and business owners.'' The record backs him up. Laura and her colleagues offered city financial support to businesses and residents, closed portions of the downtown to ensure the survival of restaurants, and adapted their plans on the go to accommodate as many needs as possible.

A note within the city's 3rd quarter financial report of fiscal year 2019-2020 contains this historic understatement, ``The COVID-19 related emergency declared in mid-March began to affect revenue and expenditures towards the end of the third quarter, but the effects had little impact on the usual trends. The effects will primarily be seen in quarter four and beyond.'' Laura works in the private sector. To her that language was financial-speak for, ``Head for the high ground. A tsunami is coming.''

She and her colleagues ably guided city finances despite enormous uncertainty. San Carlos is recovering from the pandemic with strong finances. As city residents take stock of their high-quality police and fire services, beautiful parks, and restoration of much-beloved public events like Home Town Days and the downtown Art and Wine Festival, they can in part thank Laura and her colleagues for wrestling community success from the jaws of the COVID-19 alligator.

Of course, her term of office should not be defined by the pandemic. Laura worked hard to establish a higher minimum wage, voted for affordable housing construction, and supported a plan for the city's eastside industrial area that will lead to the creation of thousands of life science and other high technology jobs over the coming years. She is a strong advocate for affordable childcare, voted to ban the sale of flavored tobacco in San Carlos, supported linkage fees to create community benefits from commercial development, and supported using city funds for gun buybacks. One colleague remarked that she also did a great job running city council meetings. If there was an Emmy Award for Zoom city council meetings that run on time and still hold the public's attention at 11 p.m. on a work night, Laura would accept in the role of best director, with appropriate recognition given to staff and her colleagues.

Laura was born in West Virginia and raised in San Diego. She obtained her Bachelor of Arts Degree from the University of California at Santa Cruz and her MBA from the University of California at Berkeley. She and her family moved to San Carlos in 2011, and then deeply embedded themselves in the life of this small community. Laura's wife, Kathy, is the widely respected Executive Director of the San Carlos Education Foundation, and their two sons, Bradley and Gregory, attended local public schools.

Laura can often be seen riding her bicycle around town. She is an avid athlete and her energy in public office reflects her stamina. She will soon have more time for her family and friends, a just reward after so many evenings donated for public benefit. We should all thank her family for their support of her service.

Madam Speaker, John Denver memorably described Laura's birthplace, West Virginia, as ``almost heaven.'' We shouldn't put Laura on the spot to compare San Carlos to the Blue Ridge Mountains, but we're thankful that she and her family settled on Howard Avenue rather than on the banks of the Shenandoah River. Denver also sang that life is old in West Virginia. Proudly, San Carlos is quite young and vibrant. This also describes the spirit of Laura Parmer-Lohan. She is a public servant who in 2018 signed up for a volunteer job on a few nights a month. She ended up doing enormous overtime in defense of our lives and welfare for four eventful years. Job well done.

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