Rep. John Olver (D)
Democratic Rep. John Olver just issued a statement announcing his retirement:
Since 1991, I have had the privilege and great honor of representing the people of the First District of Massachusetts in the U.S. House of Representatives. The district has grown much larger from the district as it was in 1991, and these 20 years have been tumultuous years for America.
Last December, I announced that I intended to seek to continue my congressional service beyond 2012. Over the past six months, circumstances within my family have substantially changed, and I now find I must reconsider my earlier decision.
Therefore, I will retire from the House of Representatives at the conclusion of the current (112th) Congress.
Olver is 75 years old and had been the subject of much retirement speculation, particularly since his wife was diagnosed with ovarian cancer earlier this year (something to which he alludes above). With redistricting forcing Massachusetts to shrink down to 9 seats from 10, many news stories suggested that Olver's seat in the western part of the state could be slated for elimination, or at least a shotgun marriage with another district.
With Olver stepping aside, though, that will make life much easier for mapmakers in Boston. Presumably much of Olver's territory will consolidate with Richard Neal's 2nd CD, the other district in western Massachusetts, though more creative line-drawing is certainly possible. As was the case with the most recent retirement announce (Dennis Cardoza in California), there won't be a lot of drama here because there really won't be an issue of "succession." Andrea Nuciforo, a former state senator, said the other day that he wanted to run against Olver, but who knows what he'll do now. Beyond that possible wrinkle, the remaining members of the state's delegation (all Democrats) can breathe much easier, since nine divides into nine a lot more cleanly than ten does.