Walsh to Retire From Congress



Walsh said he would retire at the end of his term in January 2009. He was first elected to represent New York's 25th Congressional District in 1988, following in the footsteps of his father, William Walsh, a mayor of Syracuse in the 1960s who spent three terms in Congress. After running unopposed and collecting 91 percent of the vote in 2004, Walsh beat his 2006 Democratic opponent, Dan Maffei, by a mere 3,400 votes. Maffei immediately began campaigning afterward for 2008. After the race, Walsh said he had gotten the message from voters angry with his unyielding support of the Bush administration and its war policies. After returning to Congress last year, Walsh opposed President Bush's troop surge in Iraq and later decided that he would support efforts for a gradual withdrawal of U.S. troops Congressman James Walsh of New York served as a Peace Corps Volunteer in Nepal in the 1960's.

Walsh to Retire From Congress

Walsh to Retire From Congress

By WILLIAM KATES – Jan 24, 2008

SYRACUSE, N.Y. (AP) — Republican Rep. Jim Walsh, who built a reputation during his 20 years in Congress for bringing federal funding to his upstate New York district, said Thursday he would not seek an 11th term in November.

Walsh, 60, said he had spent half his life as a public servant, and wanted to enjoy his remaining years as a "normal" person. He also said his narrow 2006 victory made him take stock.

"It's time for the next chapter. I don't know what that is, but I'm excited to turn the page," Walsh told a room packed with reporters, staff, family and friends.

Walsh said he would retire at the end of his term in January 2009. He was first elected to represent New York's 25th Congressional District in 1988, following in the footsteps of his father, William Walsh, a mayor of Syracuse in the 1960s who spent three terms in Congress.

After running unopposed and collecting 91 percent of the vote in 2004, Walsh beat his 2006 Democratic opponent, Dan Maffei, by a mere 3,400 votes. Maffei immediately began campaigning afterward for 2008.

After the race, Walsh said he had gotten the message from voters angry with his unyielding support of the Bush administration and its war policies. After returning to Congress last year, Walsh opposed President Bush's troop surge in Iraq and later decided that he would support efforts for a gradual withdrawal of U.S. troops

Walsh, chairman of a House Appropriations subcommittee, brought more than $1 billion in federal grants to his district, which runs from Syracuse to the Rochester suburbs.

Associated Press writer Devlin Barrett in Washington, D.C., contributed to this report.

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