Posted on 11/25/2011 5:48:14 PM PST by Racehorse
Rep. Charlie Gonzalez said Friday he will not seek re-election, a decision that will end the congressional tenure of a Democratic family whose name has been synonymous with the city of San Antonio for more than half a century.
Gonzalez, who sued the state over a redistricting plan that carved downtown out of his central San Antonio congressional district, said it was not reapportionment, but the need to provide financial stability for his family that is forcing him to seek a new career.
“I still find the job hugely rewarding, but the demands pull me somewhere else,” said Gonzalez, who will forego an eighth term in office.
“I've been in Congress for 14 years and I want to do something else — what that is I really don't know, but financially I would like to be productive and have the resources to make a better life,” Gonzalez said.
His decision not to run for another term ends nearly 50 years of representation by the Gonzalez family.
It also presents a political opportunity to state Rep. Joaquín Castro, twin brother of San Antonio Mayor Julián Castro. The Democrat likely will seek Gonzalez's 20th Congressional District seat, his spokesman Cary Clack said.
Former U.S. Rep. Ciro Rodriguez, another Democrat, is eyeing the newly redrawn 35th district in which Castro originally intended to run.
SNIP
Gonzalez, 66, succeeded his father, Rep. Henry B. Gonzalez, who rose to prominence in the 1950s as a state senator who took to the Senate floor of the state Legislature to filibuster and kill discriminatory education bills.
The elder Gonzalez was later elected to the U.S. House with the help of President John F. Kennedy and Vice President Lyndon B. Johnson.
Gonzalez served from 1961 to 1998 . . .
(Excerpt) Read more at mysanantonio.com ...
Till now, there has never been an opportunity for a viable Republican to win this district. The Gonzalez name alone carries that much weight.
Democrat candidate to watch is Joaquín Castro. He was set to go against Lloyd Dogget until federal judges drew up a new redistricting map.
Charlie's influence is such that his endorsement will give the candidate of his choice a huge block of votes.
Repubs will need to find someone awesome to have even a ghost of a chance to win the district.
Right.
He’s a congressman and he’s choosing to retire to seel something financially rewarding.
Whoops . . . make that the 20th District. Fingers and mind don’t alway cooperate.
‘the congressional tenure of a Democratic family whose name has been synonymous with the city of San Antonio for more than half a century.”
And therein lies a good part of the problem with American politics
From the WSJ letters:
Ms. Palin recalls Mark Twain’s sardonic observation that the only “distinctly native American criminal class [is] Congress.” She urges sudden and swift reform of its legally privileged fiduciary, financial criminal practices—which seem to be legion—without considering another perspective. Twain also remarked that if your congressman returns to run for re-election after two years in Washington, but is not already a made millionaire, he is too stupid to get your vote.
Jascha Kessler
Professor Emeritus
Modern English & American Literature
UCLA
So glad to hear this - I live in his district. Hope the GOP recruits a good candidate!
He was at least able to muster a coherent argument, which is more than I can say for his partner, Tamar Jacoby.
Very intelligent and charismatic, although dead-wrong on this issue.
me, too and me, too. We don’t need another Castro, either. Lyle Larsen, maybe?
In other words, he’s handled his personal finances as incompetently as he’s handled the nation’s finances. God help him.
Thanks Racehorse.
He’s 66 years old and is now getting around to thinking about financial stability for his family? And this man was chosen as the best person to represent them in Congress and make financial decisions for them?
Looks like the insider trading revelations just scored its first victim. Like Rush always says, to find the real answer, always follow the money.
Maybe this is the new line to replace the worn out "I want to spend more time with my family", except this time it will be true. Just how much is it again he will be receiving in his congressional pension?
Yes, people in San Antonio said he is the best for quite a few times. The heart of San Antonio is as Democrat as Washington, D.C. So politically it will be like he never retired.
I always thought he was one funny looking, ugly guy
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