Rep. John T. Doolittle announced his retirement from Congress at a press conference last Thursday surrounded by supporters.
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Placer County voters and those in the other northeastern California counties comprising the 4th Congressional District were busy this week trying to figure who will be Democrat Charlie Brown’s Republican opponent in the November general election.
The guessing game started last Thursday when incumbent Congressman John T. Doolittle, R-Rocklin, made the not-too-surprising announcement that he won’t be seeking a 10th term this year. Doolittle, who turned 57 three months ago, said he and his wife Julie “made this decision after much prayer and deliberation. We are at peace with the choice, and I am actually quite happy with it and look forward to starting a new chapter in our lives.” He made no reference to the U.S. Department of Justice’s ongoing corruption investigation of his dealings with convicted lobbyist Jack Abramoff. The probe hit scandalous proportions last spring when FBI agents, armed with a search warrant from a federal court, visited the Doolittle’s modest home in Virginia and departed with several items. Doolittle was flanked by several cronies when he made his announcement in Roseville’s Maidu Center. They included Placer County Supervisors Bruce Kranz and Kirk Uhler, State Senator Sam Aanestad, Rocklin Councilwoman Kathy Lund and Tim Leslie, a retired state lawmaker. Assemblyman Ted Gaines, a product of the Doolittle political machine, was conspicuous by his absence. He incurred the wrath of Doolittle supporters a few months ago when he opined that the corruption investigation was hindering the congressman’s effectiveness and that he — Ted Gaines — was considering running for the office himself. Earlier this week, Gaines backed down and announced he will seek re-election to the 4th Assembly District seat. Aanestad also said he is not running for the congressional seat. Ken Campbell, a longtime Doolittle backer and celebrated Placer County GOP leader who had a public falling out with the congressman over the latter’s support of “irresponsible and wasteful government spending,” blogged that he was denied entrance to the Maidu Center for the farewell speech in Roseville because Doolittle’s chief of staff, Ron Rogers, “turned me away.”
Moments after Doolittle’s announcement, Rico Oller, a former
conservative state legislator from Calaveras County as well as a
Doolittle protegé, disclosed his intention to run for the GOP
nomination in the 4th CD. Doug Ose, a former moderate Republican congressman from the Sacramento
area, was expected to announce his candidacy in the near future. Filing
opens February 11. Should Ose seek the nomination, veteran political
observers were predicting that Auburn Vice Mayor Mike Holmes would
withdraw his announced candidacy and throw his support to Ose. Eric Egland, a reserve Air Force intelligence officer and a Roseville
resident, apparently will keep pushing for the nomination. In the wake
of Doolittle’s decision, Egland was quoted as saying, “It’s a great day
for Republicans. We can finally move beyond the scandal and return to
talking about the issues.” Another possible GOP candidate is Theodore Terbolizard of Cedar Ridge
in Nevada County, who bills himself as a “paleo-Republican.” Earlier
this week he was spotted heading for a Republican gathering in
Placerville. Charlie Brown, who’s unopposed (so far) for the Democratic nomination, had this to say: “I believe John did the right thing for his family, for the 4th
District and for America. Now is the time to unite as Americans, to
heal our wounds and move forward to solve the many difficult challenges
we face both here in CD-4 and across the country we love.”
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