Reader Opinion: Valle Riestra's work for WC is fine legacy

On April 20, 1990, our community received a wonderful gift.

That was the day Paul Valle-Riestra -- "Paul VR" to those whocouldn't pronounce his last name -- joined the City of Walnut Creekas assistant city attorney.

In Paul, we got a hometown guy who loved this community andwanted to make it better. We got a seasoned attorney with real loveof local government and rock-solid experience from his tenure as astaff attorney with the League of California Cities. And we got anattorney with unique expertise in municipal telecommunicationsissues, expertise he honed as a clerk for the Media Access Projectin Washington, D.C.

After joining the city attorney's office, Paul quickly put hisexperience to work and put Walnut Creek at the forefront ofmunicipal telecommunications issues at a national level.

First, it was TCI. In 1998, he successfully sued that company --Walnut Creek's only cable provider at the time -- for underpaymentof franchise fees.

Then came Comcast. Starting in 1999, Paul led a consortium of thecounty cities negotiating with Comcast about its plans to rebuildits system. Comcast wanted to rebuild without negotiating a newfranchise and filed a federal lawsuit against the city.

Paul successfully defended us, and Comcast was forced tonegotiate a new franchise agreement in order to rebuild its system.As part of the agreement, Comcast committed to provide fiber opticconnections to all K-12 schools in Walnut Creek, a significanttechnology benefit for public education.

Then in 2005, AT&T took Walnut Creek to federal court, claimingit didn't need a franchise with the city to deliver video servicesover its telephone system. Once again, Paul was defending ourcommunity, and once again Paul prevailed on our behalf.

Paul was humble in his view of these victories. He once said,"It's not that I'm the best attorney, I just never give up."

One of Paul's proudest achievements came in 1999, when he led thenegotiations that brought Astound, and cable competition, to WalnutCreek. His efforts not only ensured competitive pricing for cabletelevision services in Walnut Creek, it also meant Astound wouldbuild a fiber optic institutional network for 27 governmental,educational and nonprofit sites at no charge. The agreement alsobrought 40 free Internet connections to our libraries.

Ultimately, Paul is the person we should credit for Walnut CreekTV. He ensured that the fees the cable companies pay the City areavailable to provide continuous funding for our government channel,ensuring that Walnut Creek residents can stay informed about localissues and events.

Fortunately, Paul shared his telecommunications expertise. Heauthored the definitive book on the subject, "Telecommunications:The Governmental Role in Managing a Connected Community."

The National Association of Telecommunications Officers andAdvisor will present a special award, posthumously, to Paul at itsannual conference.

NATOA President Ken Fellman said, "Paul was a true giant in ourfield. While he will be missed, his contributions to Walnut Creekand to the broader local government community will live on."

Of course, Paul was more than The Telecoms Guy. He had a strongsense of social justice; he was instrumental in developing thecity's affordable housing ordinances and provided guidance on everyaffordable housing project in the city for the past 20 years.

Paul demonstrated his commitment to affordable housing in hispersonal life as well, volunteering for the local chapter of Habitatfor Humanity, including terms on its board of directors and as itspresident.

Wanting to connect citizens with their local government, Paul wasone of the founders of the city's Citizens Institute. Even afterbeing promoted to city attorney, he continued to lead theinstitute's Neighborhood Showcase graduation-day bus tour.

Paul's passion for Walnut Creek showed in everything he did. Heonce said, "I don't just get joy out of my job because it feels goodto do solid, professional work. I love this community, and I get joyout of making it better through my job."

Paul will be remembered for his compassion for people, for hisquiet strength and tenacity, and for his unwavering ethicalstandards.

Paul may be gone, but his legacy will live on. He was a true giftto our community.

Cindy Silva is the mayor of Walnut Creek.