Congressman Cal Dooley

Congressman Cal Dooley made his pending retirement official Tuesday, confirming at a Bakersfield news conference that his seventh term will be his last.

Dooley, a moderate Democrat who first went to Washington in 1990, will leave office at the end of 2004.

Dooley said the "difficult decision" to forgo re-election in March 2004 "has been some time in the making," and was influenced by his belief that new blood can have a revitalizing effect.

"The institutions of government benefit when you have (new) people with new life experiences, new perspectives and new energy and vigor that join those bodies," he said."I'm absolutely confident that whoever replaces me ... will do a terrific job of ... continuing the work that I've done in Congress."

And Dooley has a few ideas who that person might be.
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Dooley also mentioned his "good friend," Kern County Supervisor Pete Parra; Parra's daughter, Nicole Parra, who worked in Dooley's Hanford office for 12 years and, Dooley said, "is doing a fabulous job" as the 30th District's first-term assemblywoman; "very capable" 31st District Assemblywoman Sarah Reyes; and former state Sen.
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Dooley also mentioned his "good friend," Kern County Supervisor Pete Parra; Parra's daughter, Nicole Parra, who worked in Dooley's Hanford office for 12 years and, Dooley said, "is doing a fabulous job" as the 30th District's first-term assemblywoman; "very capable" 31st District Assemblywoman Sarah Reyes; and former state Sen.
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"We have a deep bench, (with) highly qualified and talented Democratic candidates," Dooley said.
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Coalition members will certainly miss Dooley.
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"Cal was our leader," said Rep.Ron Kind, D-Wisc., one of three coalition co-chairmen."... (In a Congress that) seems to be getting more polarized and more partisan, (Dooley) has been very civil in his discourse, very bipartisan in his outlook, trying to find that sensible center.
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Dooley, a native of Hanford, graduated from the University of California, Davis, in 1977 with a degree in agricultural economics.
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Dooley was elected to Congress in 1990, ousting Republican Rep.
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Dooley noted at Tuesday's press conference that, after graduating from UC Davis, he spent 14 years as a farmer and will have spent 14 years in Congress.

Stepping down next year "is an opportunity for me to start a third career," he said.
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"I have appreciated Cal's cooperation, friendship and his willingness to work in a bipartisan manner on issues affecting the well-being of the people of the Central Valley," wrote Thomas, who noted crime control, efforts to improve air quality and the development of international trade as some of Dooley's most important contributions.