CONDIT - Undecided on re-election plans

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October 7, 2001

Condit undecided on re-election plans

By Dave Boyer THE WASHINGTON TIMES

Rep. Gary A. Condit says his heightened profile in Washington in recent days does not mean he has decided to run for re-election.

"I'm just trying to do my job," Mr. Condit told The Washington Times. "What I do, or don't do, in the future will have to do with my own gut-check."

The California Democrat, whose affair with missing former intern Chandra Levy dominated the news over the summer, acknowledged reports that he is circulating petitions in his district to collect enough signatures for the primary ballot.

He insisted, however, it is not necessarily a sign that he will run again — simply that he dislikes paying the $1,451 filing fee.

"That's not a declaration of anything," Mr. Condit said. "That's what I've always done every [election] year."

Asked if he will run, Mr. Condit would say only, "I'm not talking about that."

Mr. Condit did cancel his annual "Condit Country" fund-raiser, scheduled for Oct. 20, because of the terrorist attacks on Sept. 11.

"Nobody wants to party," he said. "It would be inappropriate to plan a huge party."

The seven-term congressman appears to have mounted an image comeback since Sept. 11. He was named to a new subcommittee on terrorism on the House Intelligence Committee, and late last week, he was active on the House floor in the passage of both a farm bill and the annual budget for intelligence agencies.

Mr. Condit is the second-most senior Democrat on the Agriculture Committee and fifth in seniority among Democrats on the Intelligence panel.

He said his work on intelligence matters, criticized by some colleagues as a security risk after revelations over the summer of his extramarital affair, "is independent from everything else that has been going on in my life."

Mr. Condit spent most of the summer dodging the news media as Miss Levy's parents pressed him publicly to reveal more details about his relationship with their daughter. Investigators interviewed Mr. Condit four times and, with his permission, searched his condominium in Adams Morgan. Miss Levy, 24, disappeared in late April as she prepared to return to California.

Mr. Condit finally granted an interview to ABC's Connie Chung but was roundly criticized for appearing combative and failing to give specific answers.

Last month, the California legislature drew new boundaries for Mr. Condit's district that could make it more difficult for him to win re-election. A Field poll conducted late last month showed that 46 percent of the voters surveyed in new portions of the district give Mr. Condit an unfavorable rating, compared with 37 percent of voters from the original boundaries of his district.

The Modesto Bee has repeated its call for Mr. Condit to resign since the terrorist attacks, saying his service on the terrorism subcommittee demands strong integrity and judgment.

"Condit lacks both," the newspaper said.

Last week, Mr. Condit reportedly put his one-bedroom condominium up for sale for $130,000 but quickly took it off the market.

Among the candidates in line to compete for Mr. Condit's seat are Dennis Cardoza, a Democratic state assemblyman who has faced accusations of being unfit for office after it emerged he ran a bar offering "soft porn" mud-wrestling nights.

Mr. Cardoza has worked for Mr. Condit, both in Sacramento and on Capitol Hill.

He was expecting competition for the Democratic nomination from veteran state Sens. Jim Costa and Mike Machado and state Agriculture Secretary Bill Lyons.

State Sen. Dick Monteith is considered the favorite to become the Republican candidate.

-- Anonymous, October 07, 2001

Answers

FRESNO BEE: Overstaying his unwelcome

Copyright Scripps McClatchy Western Service

Scripps-McClatchy Western Service

(October 6, 2001 03:31 p.m. EDT ) - We probably shouldn't be surprised that Rep. Gary Condit is putting together his re-election campaign. He has seldom done the right thing since former federal intern Chandra Levy disappeared Washington, D.C., five months ago.

Condit may believe the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks have given him an opportunity to restore his political career. But while the terrible events have overshadowed his behavior, they have not erased that behavior. Condit does not deserve to be in Congress, and should resign. The fact that he thinks he can be re-elected only reminds us of what a pitiful figure he has become.

Now that the Ceres Democrat has started his re-election efforts, we are forced to reiterate why he shouldn't be representing the public.

He had his congressional staff lie for him by denying a romantic relationship with Levy. Condit didn't admit until his third interview with Washington, D.C., police that he had a romantic relationship with Levy. That admission came well after the information would have been most helpful in the search for Levy. Condit also deceived Levy's parents about the nature of his relationship with their daughter, had a girlfriend on the congressional payroll, and asked another girlfriend, flight attendant Anne Marie Smith, to sign a false affidavit denying their relationship.

That is the record that Condit will be forced to run on, and it is not one that most politicians would want to share with voters. But then the public opinion polls show that Condit could not be re-elected anyway. Clearly, the public understands Condit's shortcoming, even if he does not.

There are many qualified people who can represent the Valley better than Gary Condit. He should step aside and let them do it. It's time that the embarrassing Condit saga come to an end, and a successor be given the chance to start the important work of solving the Valley's problems.

-- Anonymous, October 07, 2001


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