The Newton Democrat cited the newly redrawn congressional lines, which Gov. Deval Patrick signed into law last week, as the reason for his retirement, during a press conference at Newton City Hall amongst reporters and supporters.
Frank, 71, started his political career 45 years ago as an aide to former Boston Mayor Kevin White and was the first Congressman to publicly acknowledge his homosexuality.
Frank said he intended to serve until 2014, but after seeing the new fourth district, he changed his mind. The new district encompasses more than 320,000 new constituents, excludes New Bedford — one of his strongholds — and contains more conservative areas of the Commonwealth.
With party lines divided, making it harder to agree on public policy decisions at the federal level, he added, the time to retire is now.
“I now believe that there is more to be done trying to change things from outside than by working within,” Frank said. “The inside work I have felt best at is not going to be as productive for the foreseeable future and not until we make some changes.
“My ability to be an advocate on the kinds of issues I most care about will be as great on the outside as on the inside,” he added.
To get re-elected, Frank said he would have to commit a significant amount of time and energy to meeting the new voters and learning about their concerns, as well as raising about $2 million.
“It would be a rough campaign,” he said. “I don’t like raising money.”
One advantage of not running, Frank said, is he won’t “even need to pretend to be nice to people I don’t like” and has no interest in becoming a lobbyist or historian.
Instead, he added, he will look to write, teach and lecture, and may serve as a legal expert on “LGBT court cases.”
In response to Frank’s retirement, President Barack Obama said in a press statement, “This country has never had a Congressman like Barney Frank, and the House of Representatives will not be the same without him.
“For over 30 years, Barney has been a fierce advocate for the people of Massachusetts and Americans everywhere who needed a voice,” Obama added.
Frank, who is the ranking member of the House Financial Services Committee, was the lead advocator and co-writer of the Dodd–Frank law — a historical financial regulatory reform created in response to the 2009 recession.
In his last year in office, Frank will defend the financial reform he helped pass in 2010 and push for deficit reduction that includes military spending.
“It is only thanks to his leadership that we were able to pass the most sweeping financial reform in history designed to protect consumers and prevent the kind of excessive risk-taking that led to the financial crisis from ever happening again,” Obama said in the release. “Barney’s passion and his quick wit will be missed in the halls of Congress, and Michelle and I join the people of the Bay State in thanking him for his years of service.”
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