N.Y. 24: Boehlert Rebuffs Entreaties, Sets Off Gavel Race

Written by: Kelly Keck on Mar 18, 2006 4:48 PM EST

www.cqpolitics.com/2006/03/ny_24...

N.Y. 24: Boehlert Rebuffs Entreaties, Sets Off Gavel Race
By Marie Horrigan | 3:56 PM; Mar. 17, 2006
Despite the entreaties of GOP leaders worried about holding his seat, House Science Chairman Sherwood Boehlert, R-N.Y., announced Friday that he will retire at the end of this Congress.

Boehlert, a moderate who represents the 24th District in central New York, said his decision to depart after 12 terms "was not taken lightly nor was it made in haste."

Boehlert discussed his plans with President Bush on Air Force One earlier this week after Bush visited Canandaigua, a town just east of the 24th.

His retirement throws in play a seat formerly considered safe for Republicans. CQPolitics.com is changing its rating of the race to No Clear Favorite.

Boehlert is the 25th House member, and the 17th Republican, to announce plans to retire or seek other office in a year when Democrats see their best chance yet to regain control of one or both chambers of Congress.

Because of the GOP's six-year term limits for committee chairmen, Boehlert must relinquish his gavel at the Science Committee at the end of this Congress. It was not clear whether he had sought or received any promises that he could claim the chairmanship at the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee if he ran again and Republicans remained in control. He currently is third in seniority on that panel.

Boehlert turns 70 on Sept. 28 and had triple bypass surgery in 2004.

Ralph M. Hall of Texas, the Republican next in line on the Science Committee, is "very interested in the chairmanship," according to aide Leslee Gilbert. Hall has been on the committee for a quarter-century and was ranking Democrat for three years before he changed parties in January 2004.

Two days ago, before Boehlert's decision was announced, Hall said he thought he has a good chance to claim the Science gavel. "I don't think they would jump over me" to give a less senior member the chairmanship, he said. "I have the Speaker's word that seniority will play a major role in deciding who is picked."

When asked if he would think about retiring if he did not get the chairmanship, Hall, 82, replied, "I wouldn't let a little old decision like that fail to allow me to represent my people in Congress."

Dana Rohrabacher, R-Calif., currently fifth in seniority among panel Republicans, is also interested in the chairmanship, according to his spokesman, Rebecca Rudman. He has been a chairman of two Science subcommittees, and his district includes two Boeing Co. facilities that handle space technology.

The two Republicans between him and Hall -- Lamar Smith of Texas and Curt Weldon of Pennsylvania -- are eyeing gavels at the Judiciary and Armed Services committees, respectively.

Another Republican who has expressed past interest in the Science chairmanship is Vernon J. Ehlers of Michigan, but he recently took the gavel of the House Administration Committee. Ehlers is chairman of the Science Subcommittee on Environment, Technology and Standards -- and he is also the only Republican physicist in Congress.

Open 24th District Race

Boehlert has rarely faced a serious general election challenge due to his popularity as a centrist unafraid to clash with his own party. "My manner of representation and voting record for more than two decades has earned for me the label of moderate," he said Friday. "I'm proud of that label, fervently believing that the overwhelming majority of thinking people reject the extremes of the left and right."

The district leans Republican -- the GOP has held a 10-point advantage over Democrats in voter registration the past two years -- but the party's grip is tenuous. Bush carried the district with a 6-point margin over Democrat John Kerry in 2004, but he beat Democrat Al Gore by only a fraction of 1 percentage point in 2000.

Without Boehlert as a well known, moderate choice for the district, Democrats have the chance to pick it up. Their favored candidate appears to be Oneida County District Attorney Michael Arcuri, who has proven he can win in Republican-leaning districts in his past four elections.

Joining Arcuri in the Sept. 12 primary race is former Cortland Mayor Bruce Tytler and two political newcomers, epidemiologist Les Robert and Utica attorney Leon Koziol.

Former Seneca Falls Mayor Brad Jones, a strongly conservative candidate, announced he would compete for the GOP ticket even before rumors of Boehlert's retirement circulated. But GOP insiders are hoping for a more moderate nominee in Boehlert's mold. Two moderate Republican state senators -- Raymond A. Meier and James Seward -- had earlier indicated a strong interest in the race. But Seward said Friday he would not file. The deadline to enter the contest is July 13.

In his statement Friday, Boehlert, a rabid baseball fan whose district houses the Baseball Hall of Fame, cited a quote from famed pitcher Roger Clemens.

"When asked about retirement [Clemens] said, 'When I shut it down, I'll be walking away with a smile on my face. There will be no regrets because I feel like I've done it the right way.'

"Those are my sentiments. I do feel like I've done it the right way."

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Location: Oneonta, NY