Congressman Eric Swalwell's bill to name the Dublin Post Office after Jim Kohnen was signed into law on August 8, 2014 by President Obama. Here's a link to text of the bill, H. R. 1671. The Bill passed the House with 398 votes for and 0 against. I guess voting to name each other's local Post Office is the one thing Democrats and Republicans in Congress can agree on.
Jim Kohnen is a good choice to honor on the Post Office. He was active in water issues in Alameda County, serving on both the Dublin San Ramon Services Board of Directors and the Zone 7 Water Agency. He died unexpectedly a few years ago just when he and his wife were planning to move into a new retirement community in Pleasanton.
The Dublin San Ramon Services District established a $2000 college scholarship in his name. Last year it was awarded to a student from San Ramon. This year the only person to apply did not meet the requirements so the Scholarship was not offered. It will be offered again next year. I hope Jim's name on the Post Office will inspire more students to apply for it.
I went down to the Dublin Post Office this afternoon to buy stamps and ask when Jim Kohnen's name would be added to the P.O. name. I took a snapshot of the front of the building. There's room above "United States Post Office" to add his name.
The clerk at the window didn't know where Jim's name would go or when the Post Office's name would be changed. She suggested I call the Postmaster in Pleasanton. She wrote down two phone numbers, which I tried calling when I got home. One didn't answer and the other had been disconnected. So I looked them up on the United States Post Office website and there was an error in the numbers she wrote.
I plan to phone Postmaster Gurjant Khosa tomorrow, but I wanted to post this blog tonight. Swalwell has a Press Release on his website now saying, "There will be a formal naming ceremony with the U.S. Postal Service at a later date." So the date doesn't appear to be set yet.
I'm happy to see Jim Kohnen honored this way and I wondered why out Post Office in San Ramon isn't named after one of our important figures. I thought for a moment and By Athan immediately came to mind. So I emailed Swalwell to name our San Ramon Post Office after Byron Athan.
Email to Rep. Eric Swalwell:
"The San Ramon Post Office is not named for any important local person. I would like to suggest naming it after Byron Athan. By Athan was an important person in the development of San Ramon. At different times he served on the City Council as a Councilmember and Mayor. He was also the City Attorney, City Manager and all around lovable curmudgeon. Here's a link to the article I wrote after his death."
