Olver's decision could affect decisions to eliminate his district under congressional redistricting at the Statehouse.
U.S. Rep. John W. Olver, seen last year at an editorial board meeting of The Republican, announced Wednesday his intentions to retire from office next year.In a development that could leave Western Massachusetts with only one congressional seat, U.S. Rep. John W. Olver Wednesday announced that he would step down at the end of his current term, ending a career in elective offices that has spanned 40 years.
Olver’s decision could have profound effects on the future of his sprawling congressional district. His plans to retire make it easier for top state legislators on Beacon Hill to divide his district and merge it with that of another incumbent in a new congressional map being drawn for Massachusetts, an analyst said Wednesday.
Olver’s retirement plans could also spark candidates to run for his seat, even if it is combined with another incumbent’s district.
Olver is in his 11th term representing the 1st Congressional District, which includes 107 communities, or 40 percent of the state, from the New York border to northern Middlesex County.
During his 20 years in Congress, the former state legislator was elevated to chairman, and currently ranking Democrat on the Appropriations Subcommittee on Transportation, Housing, and Urban Development. He was noted for winning federal money for projects in his district.
Olver’s plans come as the state prepares to deal with the loss of one of its 10 seats in the U.S. House of Representatives, after the 2010 census showed its population grew more slowly than states in the South and the West.
Olver, 75, the oldest member of the state’s congressional delegation, declined a request for an interview but issued a statement through his office in Washington. Olver cited family circumstances for his decision. His wife, Rose, a professor at Amherst College, was diagnosed with ovarian cancer in March.
“Since 1991, I have had the privilege and great honor of representing the people of the First District of Massachusetts in the U.S. House of Representatives,” Olver said in a statement issued shortly after 4 p.m. Wednesday. “The district has grown much larger from the district as it was in 1991, and these 20 years have been tumultuous years for America.”
“Last December, I announced that I intended to seek to continue my congressional service beyond 2012. Over the past six months, circumstances within my family have substantially changed, and I now find I must reconsider my earlier decision.
“Therefore, I will retire from the House of Representatives at the conclusion of the current Congress.” Olver, through a spokeswoman Wednesday, declined to comment further on his wife’s health.
Dennis B. Hale, an associate professor of political science at Boston College, said that Olver’s congressional district likely will be carved up and added to other districts such as those of U.S. Rep. Richard E. Neal, D-Springfield, and U.S. Rep. James P. McGovern, D-Worcester. Hale said it is easier to combine a district of an incumbent running for re-election.
“He was the obvious guy to go,” Hale said. “He was the oldest. Everybody must retire sooner or later.”
The state Senate chairman of the Joint Committee on Redistricting, Sen. Stanley C. Rosenberg, an Amherst Democrat, declined comment but issued a statement thanking Olver for more than four decades of public service and wishing Olver and his family well. Rosenberg has said that congressional redistricting is especially difficult because all incumbents planned to run for re-election.
“This is a dramatic change, and the committee in the coming days will assess its impact on congressional redistricting,” Rosenberg, a former legislative aide to Olver from 1980 to 1983, said in the statement issued with Rep. Michael J. Moran, a Boston Democrat and House chair of the committee.
Rosenberg has said he is hopeful of unveiling a new congressional map early next month.
Olver launched his career in Congress when he defeated Republican Steven Pierce, of Westfield, in a special election to fill the seat left vacant by the death of U.S. Rep. Silvio O. Conte, a Republican. Before that, Olver was a member of the state House of Representatives from 1968 to 1972 and the state Senate from 1972 to 1991.
Olver grew up on a farm in Pennsylvania and moved to Amherst in 1962 to teach at the University of Massachusetts. He has three degrees in chemistry, including a doctorate from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
Olver made national news in 2006 when he was among five Democratic members of Congress who were arrested and led away from the Sudanese Embassy in plastic handcuffs in protest of the Sudanese government’s role in atrocities in the Darfur region. They were held in jail cells and released two hours later after each paying a $50 fine.
In a statement, Neal said Olver “earned a reputation for being an honest, sincere and intelligent representative who always made the people of Western and central Massachusetts his top priority. His work on the Appropriations Committee, where he helped direct millions of dollars to our region, will be remembered for years to come.”
Olver’s announcement might draw more candidates into a contest for what could be a reconfigured 1st congressional district.
Rep. John Olver's "I've Been Everywhere" campaign ad
Former state Sen. Andrea F. Nuciforo, a Pittsfield Democrat, reiterated he will run for Congress for whatever district includes Pittsfield. “This is John Olver’s day,” Nuciforo said. “I congratulate him on a job well done, and I thank him for his service.”
U.S. Sen. John F. Kerry and Gov. Deval L. Patrick, who both attended a fundraiser in Holyoke in June to celebrate Olver’s 20 years in Congress, issued statements praising Olver’s work over the years.
“My friend and longtime colleague John Olver is a quiet man who lets his large accomplishments speak for him,” Kerry said. “He’s a public servant of principle who has served Western Massachusetts with great skill and deep passions belied by his unassuming and humble demeanor. All of those qualities are a great credit to this remarkable public servant. He’s been a congressional workhorse with the heart of an Amherst activist.”
Patrick said he and his wife, Diane, wish Olver well. “Throughout his career, John Olver has served as a bastion of support for his constituents, friends and family in Western Massachusetts,” Patrick stated. “While his leadership in Congress will be missed, I know that his advocacy and passion for public service will continue.”
In his hometown of Amherst, leaders said they were saddened to learn that Olver’s name won’t be on the ballot next year.
“John is a very fine human being,” said Hampden Judge James G. Collins, of Amherst, who commuted to Boston with Olver in the 1970s and 1980s when Collins was a state representative and Olver, a state senator. “He completely cares about the people he serves. He’s been selfless in terms of his public service.”
Lucy Benson, of Amherst, who was Undersecretary of State for Security Assistance, Science and Technology under President Jimmy Carter, said, “I am shocked. I’m sorry, and the whole district should be sorry. He was a first-rate member of Congress.”
Amherst Town Meeting member and longtime resident Margaret L. Roberts was surprised. “I had hoped that we could (continue to) benefit from his representation. .¤.¤. I think he’s fought some good battles in Washington.”
Staff writer Diane Lederman contributed to this story.