January 16, 2014 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — Extensions of Remarks E97 IN MEMORY OF MAYOR KEN dinners, where it was common place for her to The Fulbright Program is sponsored by the MERCER bring up the most salient political issues of the Department of State, Bureau of day. Her drive and enthusiasm for political dis- Education and Cultural Affairs. This program is HON. ERIC SWALWELL cussion propelled her to study History at UC known as America’s flagship international ex- OF Berkeley, where she received her Bachelor of change program. First established by Con- Arts degree in 1974. Ms. Rasky went on to IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES gress in 1946, the Fulbright Program has earn her Master’s degree in Economic History served the purpose of building mutual under- Thursday, January 16, 2014 from the distinguished London School of Eco- standing between American citizens and the Mr. SWALWELL of California. Mr. Speaker, nomics. rest of the world. Appropriations from the I rise today to recognize Ken Mercer, the Arriving in Washington, D.C. with an aca- , participating foreign former mayor of Pleasanton, California, who demic background in economics and an inter- governments, and private sector contributions died this past Monday at age 71. est for journalism, Ms. Rasky began her ca- fund the Fulbright Program. The program has Ken devoted his life to public service in reer as a reporter. She covered issues con- exchanged over a quarter of a million people Pleasanton. He was elected to three terms on cerning the economy and economic policy for in more than 155 countries, since its inception. the Pleasanton City Council, serving from different news organizations, including the Bu- Rebecca’s host country for the 2013–2014 1976 to 1986. Then he became the first per- reau of National Affairs and Reuters. After just academic year is Colombia. son directly elected to serve as mayor, and five years, she began reporting for The New To receive a Fulbright award is truly a great held that position from 1986 to 1992. York Times as a Congressional cor- honor. Recipients of this award must dem- It is in part thanks to Ken’s dedication that respondent. At , she onstrate significant leadership potential in their Pleasanton is the wonderful and vibrant com- wrote more than 1,700 articles for both New chosen field and are selected on the basis of munity that it is today. His diligent efforts York and Washington, D.C., exploring issues their academic or professional achievement. helped pave the way for the Hacienda Busi- relating to the tax code and the Federal Re- The experiences provided by this program en- ness Park and the Stoneridge Mall, among serve. sure that tomorrow’s leaders are both knowl- Renowned for her insight and powerful other developments. edgeable about the world and well-rounded. voice, Ms. Rasky received the George Polk He also held various posts in the commu- Mr. Speaker, it is a profound honor to rep- Award in 1990. Acknowledged for her cov- nity, including with Pacific Bell and ValleyCare resent future leaders like Rebecca from the erage of the Congressional budget crisis, she Health System. great state of Iowa in the United States Con- His enthusiastic devotion to Pleasanton and her colleagues shared recognition for this gress. I know my colleagues in the House will serves as an inspiration. prestigious award for their critical and insight- join me in congratulating her for receiving this My condolences go out to Ken’s daughter ful research and reporting on these complex prestigious award and I wish her the best of Shelley, son Chuck, brothers Ron and Norm, issues facing the nation. luck in her studies and future career. Later, as a UC Berkeley senior lecturer, Ms. and his grandchildren, nieces, and nephews. Rasky effortlessly moved from the newsroom f He will be missed greatly. to the classroom. Ms. Rasky left an imprint on IN TRIBUTE TO WINTHROP BEAN f a generation of students, specializing in teach- OF STRAFFORD, VERMONT OUR UNCONSCIONABLE NATIONAL ing political and government reporting. DEBT Through her mentorship, students were con- HON. tinuously inspired and challenged to ‘‘twist the OF VERMONT lens’’ and find a more nuanced perspective in IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES HON. MIKE COFFMAN journalism. Her teaching was so influential that OF COLORADO Thursday, January 16, 2014 students began to refer to themselves as IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES ‘‘Rasky-ites’’, illustrating their devotion to her Mr. WELCH. Mr. Speaker, on behalf of the Thursday, January 16, 2014 and her style of political reporting. Bean family of Strafford, Vermont, and in trib- Mr. COFFMAN. Mr. Speaker, on January In addition to her prolific career, Ms. Rasky ute to their exceptional young son and brother 20, 2009, the day President Obanna took of- established and supervised the J-School’s murdered thirty years ago because of his sex- fice, the national debt was California News Service, offering students the ual orientation, I submit the following Herald of $10,626,877,048,913.08. opportunity to cover government and politics Randolph story. Winthrop Bean’s story is a Today, it is $17,287,251,611,151.62. We’ve for news organizations throughout the country. tragic tale of senseless loss in the face of added $6,660,374,562,238.54 to our debt in 5 She enjoyed being able to guide younger gen- homophobia and reminds us of the need to years. This is over $6.6 trillion in debt our na- erations of journalists on how to cover presi- end discrimination and achieve fundamental tion, our economy, and our children could dential and other campaigns. Even after her equality for all. have avoided with a balanced budget amend- students graduated, she was known to advise [From the Herald of Randolph] ment. them well into their professional careers. She WINTHROP BEAN REMEMBERED will be remembered as a distinguished re- (By Bruce Kogan) f porter, a supportive leader, and a dedicated This month will mark the 30th anniversary HONORING SUSAN RASKY mentor. of a guilty plea entered in a New York City Today, California’s 13th Congressional Dis- court by a man named Alfred Desjardin, 25, HON. trict salutes and honors an outstanding indi- pleading guilty to manslaughter-1 in connec- vidual and stalwart journalist, Susan Rasky. tion with the stabbing death of Strafford na- OF CALIFORNIA As a constituent and UC Berkeley professor, tive Winthrop Bean on May 19, 1983. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES Ms. Rasky inspired many future journalists It was a story little reported in the main- Thursday, January 16, 2014 stream media, but in the White River Valley and impacted so many lives throughout the of Vermont it was the major news of the Ms. LEE of California. Mr. Speaker, I rise nation. I join all of Susan’s loved ones in cele- year, because of the effect that Winkie Bean today to honor the extraordinary life of Susan brating her incredible life. She will be deeply had on all around him. Rasky, former political reporter for The New missed. My own connection with this case came York Times and lecturer at the Graduate f with my job at New York State Crime Vic- tims Board, where I was an investigator. School of Journalism at the University of Cali- TRIBUTE TO REBECCA TAYLOR A woman named Linda Strohmeier, who fornia, Berkeley. Known throughout the nation volunteered at the New York City Gay and as an accomplished reporter, Ms. Rasky has HON. TOM LATHAM Lesbian Anti-Violence Project, approached left an indelible mark on the national dis- me on behalf of Alta Varney, Winthrop’s OF IOWA course. With her passing on December 29, mother, who had filed a claim for funeral re- IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 2013, we look to the outstanding quality of her imbursement. Ms. Strohmeier was from the life’s work and the inspiring role she played in Thursday, January 16, 2014 area and knew Winkie and his family. She told me of his ambitions for a career in shaping the nature of political reporting and in- Mr. LATHAM. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to the theater, which was why he was in New spiring future journalists. recognize the achievements of Rebecca Tay- York City, living with friends on East 93rd Born on June 10, 1952, Susan Rasky was lor of Urbandale, Iowa for receiving a coveted Street. I knew that the location where his raised in the Los Angeles area. Her passion Fulbright award to study and conduct research body was found was right near a gay bar for politics grew out of discussions at family abroad this academic year. called Chaps, long since gone now.

VerDate Mar 15 2010 07:22 Jan 17, 2014 Jkt 039060 PO 00000 Frm 00015 Fmt 0626 Sfmt 0634 E:\CR\FM\A16JA8.023 E16JAPT1 tjames on DSK3TPTVN1PROD with REMARKS E98 CONGRESSIONAL RECORD — Extensions of Remarks January 16, 2014 All the police of the 19th precinct in New who was waiting outside the bar, no doubt IN RECOGNITION OF 75TH ANNI- York told me in an official capacity was that looking for a gay victim who would not put VERSARY OF PETERBILT MO- he was indeed an innocent victim, and there up much struggle. Winkie was stabbed about TORS COMPANY was no reason not to grant $1500 from the eight times and left in a pool of his own state to Alta Varney to bury her son. blood to bleed out and die in a stairwell at ANOTHER DIMENSION 229 East 88 Street. HON. MICHAEL C. BURGESS The case always nagged at me, and when I His screams did awake residents who called OF TEXAS got a chance to speak on my experiences for the police. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES a documentary on anti-gay violence, I de- I grew up in Brooklyn myself, and in the Thursday, January 16, 2014 cided to do some research on it. big city you do learn street smarts. My own To begin with, 10 days after Winkie’s theory of the crime is that Winthrop Bean, Mr. BURGESS. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to death, there was an arrest made of Alfred because of the loving and nurturing atmos- recognize Peterbilt Motors Company as they Desjardin, who was described as both a truck phere he was raised in, never developed celebrate their 75th Anniversary. Founded driver and a junkie. As Jerry Orbach used to them. January 16, 1939, Peterbilt has led the com- say on ‘‘Law and Order,’’ ‘‘I love it when Therese Linehan told me that Winkie be- mercial vehicle industry in the design and pro- they’re stupid.’’ Desjardin left a steak knife lieved in the best in and of everybody. It was duction of innovative and technologically ad- with his fingerprints next to Winkie’s body. beyond his grasp that people could want to vanced trucks and trailers. But it was Winkie’s story that really got harm him for any reason. Evil as a concept to me. The Herald of Randolph provided a lot With their headquarters and primary manu- is something that a lot of people can’t com- facturing efforts based in Denton, TX, they are of answers. By all accounts, Winkie was a prehend. charismatic young man who had the great the largest employer in the city. A strong com- A police tip led to Desjardin’s arrest, and good fortune to grow up in a primarily lov- the case was ready to be tried by the New munity partner, Peterbilt has supported chari- ing and accepting atmosphere. York County district attorney’s office. table efforts within their community through or- He came from South Strafford, population ganizations such as the United Way. They WITNESS RECANTS 1024 at the last census, and that’s about a have also supported higher education through 25% growth since 1983. It’s a community that A source in the DA’s office told me that their support of the University of North Texas. is a haven for artistic types of all kinds, one of the witnesses, a key witness who sculptors, painters, and folks who make Peterbilt’s leadership is particularly note- could have testified and linked the cir- worthy in their development and production of their living at the theater. That’s where cumstantial and forensic case that they had Winkie, at an early age, developed a love for developed, went bad on them. After that, a line of environmentally friendly trucks, in- the theater. Asst. DA Patrick Dugan had no choice but to cluding compressed natural gas and electric It was the passion of his life. While still in make the best bargain he could and hybrid engines. Through these products, grade school he wrote plays, designed sets, Desjardin copped to a manslaughter-1 plea Peterbilt has continued its legacy as a for- and organized the other kids into theater and got eight to 35 years for a brutal murder, ward-thinking organization and has generously groups. Later on in high school he worked at which to me had overtones of bias. adult theater companies. shared and displayed their efforts with the Former Strafford resident Peter Smith, The fact is that Desjardin selected the area public at several of my Annual Energy Effi- whom I met, told me that his best memory around Chaps as a hunting ground. The fact ciency Summits. of Winkie Bean was watching him build, out that Winkie was stabbed multiple times I am honored to join Peterbilt in celebrating of whatever scrap material he could find, a could only come from some primitive rage. this milestone in their history. As a leader in And most important for me was that not set for a local production of ‘‘The Elephant the commercial vehicle industry and a major Man.’’ Smith later wrote a beautiful obit- only was the incriminating steak knife left behind with the killer’s fingerprints, but in contributor to the North Texas economy, I am uary for Winkie for The Herald of Randolph. proud to represent the company and their em- (Smith was for many years the director of what he said was a robbery, nothing was the Hopkins Center.) taken. ployees in the US House of Representatives. NOT AN ISSUE Asst. D.A. Dugan himself was saddened by f this turn of events. In a letter to Alta For most people in Strafford, Winkie being Varney he wrote that ‘‘during the course of TRIBUTE TO JERRY COLEMAN gay was simply not an issue. That in itself our investigation . . . I have learned that makes his story unique, as most of the gay Winthrop was a wonderful person whose loss men and lesbians I’ve become acquainted HON. SUSAN A. DAVIS to his family, friends, and society is irre- with from small towns couldn’t wait to get OF CALIFORNIA placeable.’’ out of them to move to the big city because IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES of the prejudice against them. As for Desjardin, he got out after his min- To be sure, he heard the word ‘‘faggot’’ imum and went back to a life of crime. He Thursday, January 16, 2014 every so often, usually from other kids. But was caught and pled guilty to a robbery and Mrs. DAVIS of California. Mr. Speaker, on Therese Linehan, whose mother Kate was got 12 additional years that started in 1994. January 18, San Diegans of all generations After 2006, who knows where he is now? friends with Alta Varney and whose older will flock to ’s to cele- brothers were Winkie’s contemporaries in A HATE CRIME brate the life of baseball legend Jerry Cole- school, said that those same kids who called The savagery of the crime is similar to a him ‘‘faggot’’ would listen to him when they man. few other crimes motivated by homophobia, were part of his theater projects. Winkie had Lt. Colonel Gerald Francis Coleman was a some that I handled claims for in the course to have extraordinary charisma and leader- San Diego icon. He was also a decorated war of my years at Crime Victims Board. ship skills for that to happen. hero, an All-Star baseball player and an Kate Linehan told me that Winkie was And this crime seems similar to one that award-winning broadcaster. loved by just about everyone in the area, and got national attention, that of Matthew But more than that he was a husband, fa- by area I include the surrounding towns in Shepard. There is another similarity: The ther, and grandfather. the White River Valley. She remembers him mothers in each case became activists of sorts. At a recent gathering of family and friends, always having a kind word for all, never fail- his daughter Chelsea spoke of her dad and ing to ask sincerely about people’s health Judy Shepard’s life as spokesperson for and welfare. hate crimes legislation is well known. Alta any parent would have been proud of the eu- logy she gave. OFF TO NEW YORK Varney chose a different route. A Winthrop Bean memorial scholarship was established Before being the voice of the San Diego Pa- When he left to go to New York to become shortly after Winkie’s death to give funds to dres, before he played for the New York Yan- a set designer in the theater, it was with the students who want to go into the theater. well wishes of one and all in the region. No kees, Jerry, a young man from San Jose, Cali- That’s something that honored his passion, exile to the big city for Winthrop Bean. He fornia, answered his country’s call to duty. and something I believe he would have ap- could have been the local high school jock In 1942, at just 18, he joined the Marines to proved. hero who signs a con- fight in World War II, flying missions in the Pa- tract; it was how he was viewed. This was a Winkie’s name should be on a list of LGBT cific as a combat aviator. story about gay youth from a small town, a honored dead, right up there with Matthew After the war, he traded his flight suit for story that I had never heard before. Shepard, Julio Rivera, James Zappalorti, Henry Marquez, and so many others. pinstripes. But on the night of May 19, 1982 after an Jerry was called up to the Yankees in 1949 Time and circumstance have allowed his evening of good food and drinks with some and was an anchor at second base smoothly friends, Winthrop Bean decided to have a name to fade from consciousness in a way nightcap at Chaps Bar, which was on Third the others haven’t except in the White River fielding and turning double plays for the Yan- Avenue in the upper eighties. Valley of Vermont, where people still talk of kees. Maybe feeling a bit liberated and not on him as one of the most unforgettable individ- In 1950, he was an All-Star. That same year his guard, he was easy prey for Desjardin uals they ever came to know. he would be named MVP of the .

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