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LaHood mulls departure to alma mater |
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By Jackie Kucinich
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Posted: 06/05/07 07:32 PM [ET] |
Rep. Ray LaHood (R-Ill.) will make a decision in “10 days to two weeks” about whether he will put his name in the running to become president of his alma mater, Bradley University.
“It’s all about Bradley,” LaHood said yesterday, brushing off the suggestion that a departure from Congress would be the result of the seven-term member’s new minority status. “I was born in raised in Peoria, as a young boy I used to sneak into Bradley basketball games, my wife and I were both students at Bradley … I’m a big Bradley fan.”
LaHood added that he is “seriously thinking about” the job and has “talked to some people in the community about it.” He noted that the university was not looking for a traditional president, but an individual who can raise the school’s profile and demonstrate an ability to fundraise.
This is not the first time that LaHood has considered leaving Congress. In 2005, he formed an exploratory committee and raised $600,000 to challenge Democratic Gov. Rod Blagojevich. But eight months later he abandoned the bid and decided to return to Congress, explaining that there was no “heir apparent” to replace him and that his constituents wanted him to stay where he was.
Not a stranger to speaking his mind, LaHood’s moderate credentials and reputation for bipartisanship could prove a hard combination to reproduce should he depart from Congress.
In 2006, he was reelected with 67 percent of the vote in a district that President Bush carried in 2004 with 58 percent. In 2000, Bush attracted 54 percent of the district’s vote. Some Democrats say a LaHood departure would immediately put the 18th district into play.
Last month, LaHood made headlines with his candid comments about a meeting between GOP moderates and President Bush about Iraq. He also denounced a move by the House Republican leadership to appoint a colleague, Ken Calvert (R-Calif.), to the powerful Appropriations Committee even though Calvert is under an ethics cloud.
LaHood is not alone in his decision on whether to make the jump to a university post. Rep. Kenny Hulshof (R-Mo.) had announced he was in the running for the presidency of the University of Missouri. But according to a June 1 statement from his office, the lawmaker was not selected to lead the university.
“I am very disappointed in the curator’s decision. Let me be clear — I did not withdraw my name from consideration. This was the decision of Chairman [Don] Walsworth and the board,” said the statement.
On the other side of the aisle, Rep. Marty Meehan (D-Mass.) announced last month that he will leave Congress July 1 to become chancellor of the University of Massachusetts-Lowell.
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