Congressman John T. Doolittle will retire at the end of the 110th Congress in January of 2009. The Representative from Northeast California will not seek re-election to a tenth term in November.
“For 17 years I have had the distinct honor of representing the Fourth Congressional District of California. I plan to continue this representation in the Second Session of the 110th Congress,” said Doolittle in an address to his supporters on Thursday, Jan. 10.
During a briefing to his campaign supporters and fellow constituents, Doolittle outlined his plans for retirement, “My wife, Julie, and I have made this decision after much prayer and deliberation. It was not my initial intent to retire, and I fully expected and planned to run again right up until very recently. But it distilled upon us that we were ready for a change after spending almost our entire married lives with me in public service”
This will mean one of the last conservatives to be elected on the same ballot with President Reagan will leave public office. Doolittle early in his career was dubbed the “Liberal Giant Killer” after defeating Democrat Albert S. Rodda, the liberal Democrat dean of the California State Senate, in 1980. Doolittle ran for the Senate on the same platform of “take no prisoner” brand of conservatism he learned while working for former State Sen. H.L “Bill” Richardson. His four terms in the State Senate found him in the forefront of fights against attempts by the Democrat majorities in both houses of the State Legislature to raise taxes and limit the rights of Californians to bear arms. He rose in leadership to become Senate Republican Caucus Chairman and led efforts for Senate Republicans in two election cycles.
Elected to Congress in 1990, Doolittle joined the “Gang of Seven” that took umbrage with the Democrat leadership’s handling of the House banking scandal. Representative Doolittle worked tirelessly to reform the federal welfare entitlement to emphasize work, job training and education (producing a one-third reduction in the welfare rolls). He was a supporter of continued funding for the anti-ballistic missile defense program (culminating in the deployment of the system to protect Americans against incoming missiles for the first time in our history). Doolittle steadfastly supported the launching and prosecuting with vigor the war on Islamic terrorism. During his tenure, he participated in the impeachment of President Clinton, worked to bring about the rise of the Republican Party to majority status in the House of Representatives for the first time in five decades, and aggressively pushed for the enactment of tax provisions designed to stimulate job creation and economic growth for the long-term.
“Beginning with the leadership of President Ronald Reagan, our persistence was rewarded with the defeat of communism, the establishment of democracy for Eastern Europe, and the seeds of liberty planted for the people of Iraq and Afghanistan. History will record that this era was a turning point for freedom. No rewrite of events will ever diminish these facts,” Doolittle said.
“After 27 years as an elected official, I am humbled that the people of Northern California have trusted me to represent them in the California State Senate and then in the United States House of Representatives. Since 1980, I have represented at one time or another the people of nineteen counties—Sacramento, Butte, El Dorado, Placer, Nevada, Sierra, Plumas, Lassen, Modoc, Siskiyou, Trinity, Alpine, Amador, Calaveras, Tuolumne, Mono, Sutter, Yuba and Yolo. Many of these counties represent a piece of California unknown to most Americans today, and yet in many ways they are the most authentic in terms of traditional American values and natural beauty. I consider myself fortunate to have had the opportunity to get to know the people and the land in those counties. For twenty-seven years I have been blessed to do what I truly have loved doing: to be of service to my state and nation and to make a difference in the lives of the people of this great country,” concluded Doolittle.

Visit Rep. Doolittle’s Web site at doolittle.house.gov.