[Congressional Record Volume 168, Number 188 (Monday, December 5, 2022)] [Extensions of Remarks] [Page E1217] From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov] RECOGNIZING THE DEPARTURE OF THE HONORABLE JOE GOETHALS FROM THE SAN MATEO CITY COUNCIL ______ HON. JACKIE SPEIER of california in the house of representatives Monday, December 5, 2022 Ms. SPEIER. Madam Speaker, I rise to recognize my good friend and colleague, Councilman Joe Goethals, upon his departure from the San Mateo City Council after nine years. He began his public service on the San Mateo Public Works Commission and as a Director on the Peninsula Health Care District Board. During his time on the council, he served on the Emergency Services Council, the Grand Boulevard Task Force, Peninsula Clean Energy, the San Mateo Consolidated Fire Department board, and the San Mateo County pre-Hospital Emergency Medical Services Group. He served as Mayor in 2019. When he first ran for city council in 2013, he noted that he was a prosecutor for the Alameda County District Attorney's Office, and that by that time he had already handled over 50 cases and appeared in court in 25 jury trials involving such violent crimes as murder, rape and kidnapping. Since then, he's worked in the offices of both the Alameda and San Mateo County District Attorneys. Today, Joe is in private practice as a trial attorney handling criminal defense, murder, sexual assault, wrongful death and personal injury cases. As a city councilman, prosecutor and defense counsel, Joe sees all sides of the criminal justice system. We live in special times when people question whether our nation will splinter and whether we can continue to live under one body of law. I want to take a moment to speak about Joe Goethals the attorney because from this discipline, combined with public office, he created an unusually authoritative perspective on public policy. In a 2020 Facebook post, he reposted an image of a man with a ball and chain and the word ``addiction'' on the ball, with the man reaching for a key that had ``hope'' as its name. In 2021, as protests broke out throughout the country Joe, his colleagues, and the Board of Supervisors established a pilot program teaming mental health professionals with police officers to help people in crisis. Joe noted at the time, ``More than half of the county jail are individuals suffering from some form of mental health issues. Interventions like this I support very much because (mental) health professionals are a proven solution to reducing incarceration in favor of treatment and diversion.'' His validation, coming from both a seasoned prosecutor and defense attorney, meant that residents of San Mateo could have an extra measure of assurance that public safety was enhanced by mental health interventions. To borrow a concept from our shared faith, Joe was teaching from the catechism of justice. As a councilmember, Joe Goethals was on the dais as San Mateo tackled some of its most difficult problems. The city has since initiated major public works projects to fix a flooding problem in the North Shoreview neighborhood, a major intersection problem at El Camino and Highway 92, and a significant deficiency in the city's sewage treatment system. During Joe's years on the council, thousands of new housing units were created, and the city cooperated with the county to establish at least two hotels as new shelters for the homeless. Joe and his colleagues spurred businesses towards financial health despite the pandemic by approving outdoor dining downtown. Born and raised in San Mateo, Joe grew up along Aragon Boulevard as part of a family of five children. He was outstanding in Little League and coached right through law school. For first through eighth grade, he attended St. Matthew's Catholic School, later moving to St. Ignatius College Preparatory High School in San Francisco, and ultimately attending Santa Clara University for both undergraduate and law school. Upon graduation with an undergraduate degree in Combined Sciences with an emphasis in microbiology, he was honored with the Santa Clara University Richard J. Riordan Award for Public Service. He actually has two graduate degrees, having attained a Master's in Public Health from San Jose State University before his J.D. degree. He served for five years in public health after his undergraduate studies. As a law student, he won the Honors Moot Court competition and a scholarship to Oxford University for the summer. Joe and his wife, Sharon, have three girls Samantha, Ellie, and Charlotte. Although they have lived in different locations in recent years, they have always called San Mateo home. It is time to bid adieu to a passionate advocate for sound government. America lost a champion Little Leaguer when Joe was forced to retire from coaching. It's losing a champion public policymaker as he steps away from elective office, hopefully for only a short time. Now, his family will regain the full-time attention of a loving father and husband. Life is both complete and expanding its joys for Joe Goethals, the boy from Aragon Boulevard who swung for the bleachers and hit a grand slam. ____________________