[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 156 (2010), Part 11] [Extensions of Remarks] [Page 15692] [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]HONORING CELIA KUPERSMITH ______ HON. LYNN C. WOOLSEY of california in the house of representatives Tuesday, September 14, 2010 Ms. WOOLSEY. Madam Speaker, I rise today to honor the work of Celia Kupersmith, who departs from her position as General Manager of the Golden Gate Bridge, Highway, and Transportation District on September I, 2010. Over the past 11 years, Ms. Kupersmith has overseen improvements in the infrastructure and services on which millions of people in the San Francisco Bay Area depend. Her leadership has been a source of strength during an especially active period for the Bridge District. With over 800 employees running the Golden Gate Bridge, five transbay ferries, and a network of nearly 200 buses, the Bridge District manages the most critical linkages between San Francisco and the North Bay. It provides residents with over 50 million trips annually, and it maintains services for the six million tourists who come each year to visit the Bridge itself. In 1999, after serving for several years as Executive Directive of the Regional Transportation Commission of Washoe County, Nevada, Ms. Kupersmith took on the challenge of leading this important agency at the outset of a number of significant technological and administrative changes. During her period of service, Ms. Kupersmith has worked tirelessly to ensure that the people of the Bay Area can rely on the physical safety of the Golden Gate Bridge. She was called on to respond to the increased security demands placed on the Bridge District after September 11, 2001, and she has led the reform of Bridge security that followed. I am also particularly proud to have worked with her through several Congresses to secure federal funding for the ongoing seismic retrofitting of the Bridge. Under Ms. Kupersmith's leadership, the past decade has seen the Bridge District make substantial improvements in its speed and interconnectedness within the Bay Area transportation network. This includes the implementation of electronic toll collection on the Golden Gate Bridge and the introduction of region-wide public transit cards-- the TransLink and Clipper cards--on our buses and ferries. The Bridge District has also worked to enhance the speed of ferry service, which now offers a connection between Central Marin and downtown San Francisco in only 30 minutes. Ms. Kupersmith will be leaving the Bridge District for a Deputy CEO position at Sound Transit, a transportation agency serving Washington's Puget Sound region. However, she will also be leaving behind a legacy of service that will endure in the Bridge District's improved infrastructure, modernized services, and sounder long-term financial outlook. Madam Speaker, I ask you to join me in thanking Ms. Kupersmith for her contributions to the Bay Area and in wishing her all the best in her new endeavors. Ms. Kupersmith leaves our Bridge, buses, and ferries stronger than when she arrived, and with a sound footing for building on recent progress. ____________________