Former N.R.C.C. Official Plans to Retire

March 20, 2008,  3:34 pm

By Ariel Alexovich

http://thecaucus.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/03/20/former-nrcc-official-plans-to-retire/

The number of Republicans in the House who are retiring this year keeps on mounting, and posing significant hurdles for the G.O.P. to wage battle on so many fronts. That number climbed to 29 today when Representative Thomas R. Reynolds of upstate New York and a former chairman of the National Republican Congressional Committee said that he would not seek reelection.

Mr. Reynolds, who represents the suburban stretch between Buffalo and Rochester, narrowly held his seat in 2006 with 52 percent of the vote. While he had been a popular Congressman for a long time, Mr. Reynolds was forced to defend his leadership actions during the page scandal involving Mark Foley at the height of the last election cycle.

In announcing his decision to retire today, Mr. Reynolds said: “While there is always more to do, elected officials are only temporary stewards of the people’s trust. That’s why today I am announcing that I will not seek and be a candidate for reelection.” Our colleagues David Staba and David Stout have the full story here.

At a news conference in Williamsville, N.Y., the five-term legislator said he’s retiring so he can spend more time with his family.
The Republican congressional committee also has come under fire because of an ensuing F.B.I. investigation into accounting irregularities under Mr. Reynolds’s tenure as head of the N.R.C.C. from 2005-06 — accusations that involve whether the organization’s treasurer embezzled money from the committee funds.

Alice Kryzan, one of the Democratic challengers in New York’s 26th district, saw an opportunity in Mr. Reynolds’s departure. In a statement, she wished her former opponent well before saying, “change is sweeping across America right now, and voters are fed up with business as usual. It’s time for a Democrat to represent the 26th district.”

“We must change course,” she added, “and we need to start with new leadership. … I will bring good-paying, green-collar jobs to western New York, fight for affordable health care for everyone and vote to bring an end to the war in Iraq –- which I’ve opposed from the beginning.

During his news conference, Mr. Reynolds expressed more confidence that a Republican would carry his district this November.

“Even in the worst political environment in a generation, the voters of this community returned me to office for a fifth term, which leaves me no doubt that had I broken with tradition and sought another term, I would have succeeded,” he said.
“Make no mistake — this is a Republican district, and it will again be represented by a Republican next year.”