Rep. Anderson Announces He Won’t Seek Reelection : Congress: Twelve-term Democratic lawmaker from San Pedro helped bring billions of federal dollars to projects such as Metro Rail and the Century Freeway.

Rep. Glenn M. Anderson (D-San Pedro), a 12-term congressman and former California lieutenant governor, announced Sunday that he will not run for reelection next year.

In a written statement, Anderson, 78, said his decision not to run again in the 32nd District has been “several months in the making.”

“After more than 50 great years of public service to the people in the state of California, it is difficult to think of not continuing in that service,” Anderson said in the statement. “However, my decision to not seek elected office again will, I know, allow me to spend time in pursuing other exciting vistas.”

Anderson said he did not intend the announcement to be “a statement of retirement,” but did not elaborate on what other interests he may pursue. He could not be reached for comment Sunday at his San Pedro home.

A staff member contacted at her Washington home said she did not know that Anderson had made his decision, but said office members had been told he would be making up his mind over the weekend.

Colleagues in the House had charged that Anderson’s abilities slipped dramatically in recent years as a result of advancing age. The complaints came to a crescendo four months ago, when state Democratic leaders laying out blueprints for reapportionment proposed carving up his harbor-area district.

Last week, the state Supreme Court released a redistricting proposal that would leave Anderson’s district essentially intact, although it would provide a larger share of Republican voters than the Long Beach-based district does currently.

“Although it appears under the most recent reapportionment plan that my congressional district will remain basically intact and, thus, winnable,” Anderson said in his statement, “I make the decision to leave public life next year so as to give the next generation of leaders the opportunity to pursue a career in the federal public policy arena.”

In 1958 he was elected lieutenant governor. He lost that office to Republican Robert Finch in 1966, after a campaign in which Anderson was charged with failing to send in the National Guard promptly when the Watts riot broke out.

Anderson was acting governor at the time of the August, 1965, riot because Gov. Edmund G. (Pat) Brown was out of the state.

Anderson made a political comeback in 1968 with his election to the House, where he gained a reputation as a liberal Democrat expert at keeping several factions happy at once.

As chairman of the House Public Works and Transportation Committee, and earlier as head of a key subcommittee on surface transportation, he helped direct billions of federal dollars into such huge Los Angeles projects as the Metro Rail system, the Century Freeway and light rail line (officially called the Glenn M. Anderson Freeway), and a major deepening of the Port of Los Angeles’ main shipping channel, which also has been named for him.

His political influence, however, began to wane recently. A year ago, after colleagues complained that he relied too heavily on his staff and worried far more about his own district than national issues, he became only the third member of Congress in 15 years to be stripped of a committee chairmanship.