From the archives: As Sherwood Boehlert exits Congress, there are precious few to fill his shoes, and some ar – syracuse.com

Former Congressman Sherwood Boehlert died Monday at 84 years old.

Boehlert, a Republican who spent 24 years representing Central New York in Congress, was lauded as a leader on environmental issues and someone always willing to work across party lines.

When he left Congress, he lamented the rising levels of partisanship taking hold in Washington, D.C. That was 2006.

Below is a feature profile from The Post-Standard staff writer Mark Weiner, who chronicled Boehlerts time in Congress after he announced his retirement.

This story originally ran Dec. 10, 2006 on the front page of The Post-Standard.

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MODERATION WALKS OUT THE DOOR; AS SHERWOOD BOEHLERT EXITS CONGRESS THERE ARE PRECIOUS FEW TO FILL HIS SHOES, AND SOME OF THEM ARE DEMOCRATS

By Mark Weiner, Washington bureau

December10, 2006 Sunday FINAL EDITION

When Rep. Sherwood Boehlert walks away from a 42-year career in Congress next month, hell take with him his Brother Correctronic typewriter - one of two he insisted on using in his Capitol Hill office to address letters to constituents.

The old typewriter is a throwback to an era before e-mail, when it was OK to be seen having lunch with a member of the opposite party, and before moderate Republican congressmen became a dying breed.

As he retires, Boehlert, R-New Hartford, has decided to give the other office typewriter to his replacement in the 24th Congressional District seat, DemocratMichael Arcuri,of Utica. Arcuri won a bitter election contest for the open seat in November while campaigning as a moderate Boehlert Democrat.

What Boehlert wont be able to pass along to Arcuri is his mantle as the voice of moderation for Republicans in Congress - perhaps the last of a generation of Rockefeller Republicans from New York who were moderate on social issues and worked in a bipartisan tradition to accomplish their goals.

Now, one by one they are retiring or losing their seats. Two prominent New York moderate Republicans, Rep. Amo Houghton, of Corning, and Rep. Jack Quinn, of Buffalo, retired in 2005. In the new Congress, just six of 29 New York House members will be Republicans.

Yet Boehlert, 70, said the picture is not as bleak as it may appear for those who share his moderate ideology, one that often placed him at odds with his own party and President Bush. In Boehlerts view, the moderate voice is alive and well in Congress. It just may take on a different look.

Not only do we have a voice, but our voice is heeded, Boehlert said. I have argued that, with this highly partisan Congress, it has been the moderates moment. I think for the moderates, our best days are ahead. Im not saying moderate Republicans. Im saying moderates.

As Democrats take control of Congress in January for the first time in 12 years, the numbers do not look good for moderate Republicans.

Of 30 active members in a moderate congressional group Boehlert co-founded in Washington, the Republican Main Street Partnership, eight will be gone next year. Six members lost their seats in the November election; two, including Boehlert, decided to retire. In Central New York, Rep. James Walsh, R-Onondaga, is a member of the group; Rep.John McHugh,R-Pierrepont Manor, is not.

People like Boehlert are just at odds with the leadership of their party, said Robert McClure, a political science professor at Syracuse Universitys Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs.

Its hard to see, unless the party changes, that those old Rockefeller Republicans wont just die off and fade away, McClure said.

Even prominent Democrats say they will miss Boehlert and what he represented in Congress.

I always found him to be someone to make decisions based on what was right for the country, not just for the party, said Leon Panetta, the former White House chief of staff for President Bill Clinton.

I served with Sherry when I was in Congress, said Panetta, who represented a California district from 1977 to 1993. I continued to work with him when I was in the administration. I always found Sherry to be someone who was willing to work toward solutions. He was always willing to work on bipartisan issues.

It was that willingness to work for the common good that earned Boehlert a national award for bipartisanship - the Jefferson-Lincoln Award for 2006 - from the Leon and Sylvia Panetta Institute for Public Policy at California State University at Monterey Bay. Boehlert picked up the award Nov. 11. Previous winners include the late Sen. Daniel Patrick Moynihan, D-N.Y.

Rep.Mike Castle, R-Del., chairman of the Republican Main Street Partnership, acknowledges that Boehlerts retirement is a blow to the group.

He is a unique person who did have a very significant role in terms of moderate politics, Castle said. In certain areas, he was our absolute leader. Certainly, on almost anything environmental he would educate the rest of us.

Boehlert, chairman of the House Science Committee (and the only New York representative to chair a committee), was a clear leader when it came to science, Castle said.

In that position, Boehlert helped persuade many Republicans to support issues opposed by the rest of the party and President Bush, such as funding for new research with embryonic stem cells, Castle said.

I found Sherry to be always pleasant, but strong and fair, Castle said. He was always very articulate in presenting his arguments. I think his not running again is a great loss for that segment of the Republican Party. People can replace parts of Sherry, but nobody can replace Sherry as a whole.

In Castles opinion, one congressman could step up to fill part of Boehlerts void in New York and even nationally - Walsh.

Walsh has preferred to work quietly on local issues affecting the 25th Congressional District, which includes all of Onondaga County and the northern part of Cayuga County. But after surviving a close election in which he was criticized for not taking a more active position on issues surrounding the Iraq war, Walsh may be ready to expand his focus to national issues, Castle said.

Jim Walsh is becoming a person who could step forward, Castle said, adding that with Boehlert gone, Walsh may become a more forceful centrist than he was before.

Boehlert, who served 24 years as a congressman and worked as a congressional aide before that, agrees that Walsh will play an important role as a moderate Republican leader.

Mike Castleis the logical leader, but Jim Walsh has been a very valuable member of this emerging, moderate influential group, Boehlert said. He has done a lot of things that are sort of below the radar screen.

For example, Boehlert said Walsh was personally responsible for blocking a provision in a Republican bill that would have forced 75,000 people off of food stamps.

Jim Walsh is not unwilling to stand up and oppose the party leadership when the need is there, Boehlert said.

Walsh will have to demonstrate that independent streak on a more consistent basis if he wants to fill the void left by Boehlert, said Grant Reeher, a political scientist at SUs Maxwell School.

Walsh, more than Boehlert, is a more locally oriented person, Reeher said. Not that Boehlert didnt pay attention to those things. But even on the campaign trail, Walsh would say, Im just a city councilor at heart. He doesnt really spend a lot of time working on big picture, national issues.

Reeher added, To become more of that Boehlert mold, he would have to become more involved in the national dialogue on policy issues.

McHugh, meanwhile, said he never joined any moderate groups in Congress, such as the Republican Main Street Partnership, because he did not want to be a part of any particular voting bloc.

But McHugh said he certainly agreed with Boehlert on many issues, such as the fight against pollution that causes acid rain.

He said Boehlerts retirement will be a blow to Republican moderates.

Sure its going to have an effect, McHugh said. Anytime you lose a clear voice and clever mind like Sherry Boehlert, youre diminished. Im going to be optimistic that because of the margins in the new (Democratic) majority, the moderate voices are going to more important than ever before. I would hope we (Republican moderates) could join up with them and build some winning coalitions.

Reeher said the bottom line is that moderate Republicans have become an endangered species. But he sees a new, influential breed of moderates evolving - this time among Democrats in Congress.

Youve seen this increasing partisanship and unity within the parties, and more polarization between them, Reeher said, noting the trend dates back to the late 1980s. One of the things that I think has been a casualty of that is the more moderate Republican.

He said newly elected moderate Democrats, such as Arcuri, could play a bigger role in helping to make Congress less partisan and more functional.

Theres a legacy being passed down from Boehlert to Arcuri that we might miss at first glance, Reeher said. Whether that leads to increased bipartisanship in general, thats a tougher thing to know. People are increasingly turned off by this level of partisanship. So theres a lot of anticipation that we may see a change.

For his part, Boehlert believes both parties in Congress have no choice.

I came to Capitol Hill 42 years ago, and I have never seen a higher level of partisanship and a lower level of tolerance for the other guys point of view, Boehlert said. It must change. Im optimistic for the future. People like Jim Walsh and Mike Castleunderstand the Democrats are not our enemy, and weve got to work together.

Sherwood Boehlert

Sept. 28, 1936: Born in Utica

1956-1958: Served in the U.S. Army

1961: Received a bachelor of science degree from Utica College

1961-1964: Manager of public relations at Wyandotte Chemical

1964-1972: Chief of staff for Rep. Alexander Pirnie

1973-1979: Chief of staff for Rep. Donald Mitchell

1979-1983: Oneida County executive

1982: Elected to House of Representatives

1983: Appointed member of the Science Committee, elected chairman in January 2001

1990: Co-authored acid rain provisions of the Clean Air Act Amendments, which passed that year

1995: Named The Green Hornet by the National Journal, for his environmental advocacy

1995-2000: Chairman of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committees Subcommittee on Water Resources and Environment

1997: Named member of the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence

1999: Named one of the 50 Most Effective Lawmakers in Washington, D.C., by Congressional Quarterly

2002: House passed Boehlerts bill for $800 million in grants to the National Science Foundation for research on cyberterrorism

2003: Named to newly formed House Homeland Security Committee

2003: Sponsored bill authorizing $3.7 billion for nanotechnology research over four years; it passed in December.

2004: Had successful heart bypass surgery.

2006: Retires after 24 years in Congress. Accepts position as public policy scholar at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars in Washington, D.C.

Sources: Sherwood Boehlerts Web site, Gale Databases, news services, Almanac of American Politics

Major accomplishments

A look at what Rep. Sherwood Boehlert considers the most important issues he fought for in his 24 years as a congressman:

1. American Competitiveness Initiative of 2006

What it did: Announced by President Bush at his State of the Union address Jan. 31, the science initiative commits $5.9 billion in the 2007 fiscal year, and more than $136 billion over 10 years, to increase federal investments in research and development, strengthen education and encourage entrepreneurship and education. Boehlert, as chairman of the House Science Committee, lobbied the White House to support the initiative.

What Boehlert says: I think when all is said and done, the most meaningful long-term accomplishment is my leadership role in advancing the American Competitiveness Initiative. That was my most recent and proudest and lasting legacy.

2. Clean Air Act Amendments of 1990

What it did: Working in the minority party in Congress, Boehlert teamed with Rep. Henry Waxman, D-Calif., to take the first steps toward regulating the pollution that causes acid rain.

What Boehlert says: It launched the nations war on acid rain. We never had anything before on acid rain.

3. Nancy Brady bill of Nov. 23, 1987

What it did: Boehlert sponsored a bill allowing federal employees to donate their unused vacation time to sick co-workers. He took action after hearing about Nancy Brady, a 23-year civilian worker at Griffiss Air Force Base in Rome. Brady had used all of her paid sick time after being diagnosed with breast cancer in 1985. She ultimately received enough donated time to allow her to retire.

What Boehlert says: Her fellow employees, being very compassionate, wanted to donate their excess leave time and sick time to her. I was able to get a bill passed by Congress and signed into law that changed the rules and allowed federal employees under certain circumstances to donate unused leave time.

WHAT OTHER PUBLICATIONS ARE SAYING ABOUT BOEHLERT

It will be impossible to replace retiring Republican Sherwood Boehlert. Few representatives of either party have his intelligence, and even fewer his principled independence of thought.

- Esquire Magazine, November

In terms of politics and governance, Boehlert is a triple-threat: First, hes a moderate Republican, a vanishing breed. Second, his retirement will make his party fight for a seat this fall that almost certainly would have been safe if he had sought re-election. Third, and of most immediate interest to the Houston area, Boehlert is chairman of the House Science Committee, a key authorizing hurdle for the National Aeronautics and Space Administration. Get the picture?

- Houston Chronicle, March

Thoughtful deliberation and principled stands - that is the way a member of Congress is supposed to operate, but not many do these days. Its a mark of how far our government has shifted from its foundations that Boehlert was sometimes called a maverick. What he has been in Congress all these years is a solid gold good example.

- Binghamton Press & Sun Bulletin, March

Boehlert, known as Sherry to his friends, was elected to Congress from Central New York in 1982 as something that doesnt exist anymore - a liberal Republican. ... The loss on Boehlerts retirement ... will be the absence of those two political skills - moderation and compromise. In a world of soundbites and blogs, polarized politics is king. Few candidates succeed today by patiently explaining to voters that their anger and lusts may have to give some room for the anger and lust of others.

- The Ithaca Journal, March

Approaching his 70th birthday, Mr. Boehlert announced on Friday that he would not run for re-election this fall. Democrats were pleased, hoping to pick up a potential swing seat. But Mr. Boehlerts departure can never be cause for celebration. He has been an endangered species in his own right.

-The New York Times, March

Boehlert vs. the GOP

A look at some of the legislation and issues over which Boehlert battled his own party or the Republican president:

May 1995: Five months into Newt Gingrichs Republican Congress and Contract with America, Boehlert took on the House leadership to block a proposed rewrite of the federal Clean Water Act amendments. This was the first time anybody made a real effort to challenge the new leadership, said David Goldston, chief of staff for the House Science Committee, which Boehlert chairs. Because we were able to challenge it so strongly in the House, it ultimately failed.

July 1995: Boehlert organized and led the effort to block 17 anti-environmental riders that had been added by the Republican-controlled House to a federal Environmental Protection Agency appropriations bill. It was really after that when we sort of became the go-to people on environmental issues, Goldston said. Eventually the riders were stripped out later that year.

May 2003: Boehlert opposed the so-called Healthy Forest Act making it easier to log on federal land: It was clear the bill could not pass without us, Goldston said. Boehlert fought for modifications to the bill, which eventually passed the House and was modified in the Senate.

June 2006: Boehlert led the fight against a Republican-backed House bill to open all coastal areas of the United States to offshore drilling for oil. The bill is now stalled in the Senate.

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From the archives: As Sherwood Boehlert exits Congress, there are precious few to fill his shoes, and some ar - syracuse.com