Bradley Says ‘Goodbye’ To Washington
Byebradley
The Eagle-Tribune
Bryan McGonigle
Boston University Washington News Program
Nov. 15
WASHINGTON, Nov. 15 – Boxes and large bins covered the floor of Room 1218 in the Longworth House Office Building on Capitol Hill this week as Rep. Jeb Bradley, R-N.H., prepared to leave the nation’s capital.
“It’s amazing how much stuff you accumulate over four years,” Stephanie Dubois, Bradley’s press secretary, said, looking around at all the pictures and plaques that still needed to be packed.
After two terms as New Hampshire’s 1st District representative, Bradley was defeated by the under-funded and little-known liberal activist Carol Shea-Porter in the Nov. 7 midterm elections, which brought a wave of new Democrats to Congress and ousted many Republicans.
“I had gone into Election Day feeling pretty good and felt we had run a good campaign,” Bradley said, adding that Shea-Porter had worked very hard as well. “I still felt optimistic, but we came up a little short.”
Bradley said he didn’t think he or his staff could have done any more than they did to win. He said the national disapproval of President Bush and the Republican-controlled Congress, combined with the increased statewide popularity of Gov. John Lynch, D-N.H., and party line voting were factors out of his office’s control that had a great impact on the election.
“It was a perfect storm, and I got caught in it,” he said.
In the state’s 2nd District, which includes Concord and western New Hampshire, six-term Rep. Charles Bass, R-N.H., was defeated by Democrat Paul W. Hodes.
The midterm elections delivered both of New Hampshire’s House seats to Democrats for the first time since 1912.
Yellow Post-its were stuck on many of the pictures hanging in Bradley’s office, indicating which ones were to go back to New Hampshire with him. Outside his door was a large trash bin filled with discarded items that wouldn’t be making the trip.
“It is what it is,” Bradley said with a shrug. “You can’t win every race, and we didn’t.”
Bradley, 56, hasn’t given up on politics. He said he plans to run for elected office in 2008 but wouldn’t say if he would be running for the 1st District congressional seat again.
“I need to decompress and have a chance to talk to friends and supporters,” Bradley said. “[This election] was a historic change, but I trust that it will be somewhat temporary in nature.”
Bradley added that Republicans should unite and offer a clear contrast to the Democrats on state and federal issues, and he predicted that the contrast will be clear in the months ahead as Democrats take control of both the House and the Senate.
“Well, 2008 is a long way away, and it’s hard to know what the dynamics will be in 2008,” he said. “I don’t believe we’ll have the same dynamics we had in 2006.”
Bradley reflected on accomplishments made during his two terms in Washington, primarily keeping the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard open. In 2005, the Base Realignment and Closure Committee placed the shipyard on a list for base closures, effective by 2008. Employees of the shipyard, along with New Hampshire and Maine members of Congress and state legislators, campaigned to get the decision reversed, and in August 2005, the shipyard was taken off the list.
“That took a lot of people coming together,” Bradley said, adding that the shipyard’s high performance and top-notch workforce made it easier for the New Hampshire and Maine delegations to make a case for the facility to remain open. “Portsmouth was the best at what it did, saving money and getting ships back in the water.”
Bradley highlighted other issues he’s fought for and voted on, such as funding both disability and retirement for veterans, small-business legislation and environmental protection.
Bradley served in the New Hampshire legislature for 12 years before being elected to Congress in 2002. In 2000, he was named Legislator of the Year by Ski New Hampshire. He also was named New Hampshire Leader for the 21st Century by Business New Hampshire Magazine.
Before his life in politics, Bradley owned and operated several small businesses.
Bradley’s immediate priority is to find jobs for his staff – most of whom have been with him since day one.
“The toughest thing for me is the impact it’s had on all my staff,” he said. “I thought that all of them worked exceptionally hard in the campaign office and the congressional office, and the fact that we came up a little bit short, they should not see it as a reflection on them and their abilities.”
Dubois, a Goffstown native who joined Bradley’s staff in Washington right out of college said it will be difficult going to a new job since she enjoyed working for the congressman representing her home district.
Bradley and his staff must vacate their office by Nov. 27.
Bradley said he plans to spend more time with his four children, who live out West. He said he’ll also use his time off to climb mountains in his home state – all 48 of the mountains with elevations of more than 4,000 feet. He’s climbed them all during the summers but said he would like to try it during the winter – something he hasn’t been able to do with his congressional schedule.
“It’s not something I’ll do in one winter, but I will have the opportunity to pick my days better,” he said. “If the weather’s right and I feel like climbing Mt. Washington, I can climb Mt. Washington.”
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