Page 4 • Wednesday , August 22 , 2018 • The Hammonton Gazette
Congressman Frank LoBiondo has served since 1995
LOBIONDO , from Page 1 ing the district ’ s 700,000-plus constituents while working hard to pass legislation and serving as chairman of several key Congressional subcommittees , such as the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee ’ s Aviation Subcommittee and the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence ’ s CIA Subcommittee .
When he ’ s not on Capitol Hill , LoBiondo can be found attending many community events throughout southern New Jersey and devoting as much of his time as possible to the residents of the district . Last November , LoBiondo announced that he would soon be spending even more time in his home district because he would soon be retiring from Congress after previously serving 12 consecutive terms .
On August 15 , LoBiondo continued an annual tradition of visiting the offices of The Gazette for an interview , during which he discussed the decision to retire after becoming the 2nd Congressional District ’ s longest serving representative , his outlook on the state of affairs in New Jersey and Washington , D . C ., as well as his future plans for life after Congress .
Q : For starters , I just wanted to go back to the decision you made 10 months ago when you announced that you wouldn ’ t be running for re-election . If you had been re-elected , it would have been 13 consecutive terms representing the district . What ultimately went into that decision — above all other factors — to not run again and to retire ?
A : A lot of things went into the decision , and it ’ s a bittersweet one . At a certain point in time — and nobody in the second district has served 24 years , but — things have to end at some point . You always want them to end on your terms — not someone else ’ s terms — and for me , there were a variety of things that went into it .
I ’ ve put my heart and soul into it and never paced myself . So , for 24 years , I ’ ve gone at ‘ warp 10 .’ The district is a large district , and I ’ m 72 years old . What would it be ? One more term ? Two more terms ?
But at the top of the list is that it took me 18 years to be in a position to chair the Aviation Committee , which has our big FAA [ Federal Aviation Administration ] Tech Center — 3,500-4,000 people — it ’ s the flagship for the FAA nationally . It took me a lot of years to get on the House Intelligence and chair the CIA [ Subcommittee ], and had I chosen to run again and was able to win , I would have been off of both of them [ because there are term limits on those two subcommittees ].
And I really couldn ’ t get my brain around : 24 years , you work 16 and 18 years to get to a certain point , and then it ’ s almost like you ’ re not even on the bench . You ’ re in the locker room somewhere . And the motivation to stay , for what ? You want to be all in . You want to use the expertise you ’ ve developed . You want to use all the tools at your disposal , and while the committee assignments have been fabulous , great committees , to not be able to lead the CIA , not to be able to lead Aviation was just like the crowning touch . You want to pick your time and place . You don ’ t want somebody else to pick it for you . Politically , it ’ s always a challenge in this district . I ’ ve always been a target of the DCCC [ Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee ]— this time was not different until I made the announcement — and I wanted it to
be on my terms . I had actually had an overseas trip — a CIA trip — last October , and I had been thinking about it for a while . I didn ’ t sleep much on the plane and decided , ‘ I ’ m going to put this thing to bed one way or the other . I ’ m going to take this long flight , and I ’ m going to do ‘ stay [ versus ] go .’ And at the end , the reasons to stay were like this … the reasons to go were like this . I came back and I told the staff . I said , ‘ OK , I ’ ve been wrestling with this for a while and I think now is the time .’
I wanted to give plenty of notice for the district and for the Republican party and didn ’ t want the outcome of the election to be an influence in this in any way , shape or form . So , the timing was picked actually the day of the election or the day before — before I knew what the outcome would be to say , ‘ This is what it ’ s going to do .’
Q . You were elected in 1994 . Twenty-four years later , when you look at this district that you will be leaving in January , whether it be quality of life , socioeconomic conditions or any other factors that might come into mind , how would you assess the overall state of this district from when you were first elected to the House of Representatives versus today when you are in your final months .
A : Well , I ’ d like to think I ’ m leaving it better than I found it . I know that I put my heart and soul into the issues of the district , always put the district first .
And if we look at the economy of the district , we have to look at what ’ s happening with the casinos and Atlantic City , and although we hit a rough spot , we ’ re certainly on a rebound . The news with sports betting — the first reports are extremely positive . I can ’ t help but think that ’ s only going to get better as we move into football season and the Super Bowl , things like that .
When I look at the issues that were really sort of at the top of the list — constituent services — I think we ’ ve really done a good job for the people of the district that have come to us . We ’ ve really turned a corner a couple of years ago on veterans ’ issues and the way we ’ re leaving things for our veterans , I think , is extremely positive . First responders , what we ’ ve been able to do for — all the first responders , but especially our volunteers that really struggle with how to put the money together to do their things . Fishing , whether it ’ s commercial or recreational , we ’ ve made some great progress there . The airport and aviation , we ’ ve been able to do AIP [ Airport Improvement Program ] grants . So , there ’ s a lot that I think I can point to that is a very positive nature .
Q : The longevity that I mentioned earlier — 12 consecutive terms — has come in a district that , according to my research , has more registered Democrats than Republicans . So , being that you are a Republican Congressman , what would you say it is about your policies , your approach , just who you are as an individual , that has allowed for such a long tenure in a district where , on average , people vote Democrat more often than they vote Republican .
A : I think for a kid who grew up on a farm in Rosenhayn , pretty similar to Hammonton farms — I think that ’ s why I got along so well with Hammonton — I remembered what South Jersey values were all about and where your roots are , and what ’ s important . And always put the district first .
I ’ m proud to be a Republican , but when they were not right for their initiatives for the district , I always defaulted to the people of the district . I think that has been reflected by always winning 30- plus percent of the Democratic vote , a good chunk of the Independent and of course , the Republican vote . So , I ’ ve been blessed to have pretty strong victories over the years . And again , I think that ’ s a reflection of people understanding that if they were voting for me , that I was going to put their interests first .
Q : Throughout your career , you ’ ve been described as a Moderate Republican , someone who prides himself on putting the people ahead of the politics . And the reason I mention that is because in one of the releases that was posted on your website related to your retirement announcement , you said the ‘ increasing political polarization that is consuming the nation ’ is eliminating the ‘ middle ground to honestly debate issues and put forward solutions .’ About how long ago would you say that this trend really became an issue on Capitol Hill , and just about how difficult did that make the job for someone like yourself , who tries to not lean towards one side of the aisle ?
A : When Republicans lost control of the House of Representa-
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