Moorhead Announces ‘The Time Has Come’

Confirming months of speculation, Rep. Carlos J. Moorhead (R-Glendale), the senior Republican in the state’s congressional delegation, announced Tuesday that he will not seek reelection next year, saying “the time that I retire has come.”

While the 73-year-old congressman said he based his decision on a desire to spend more time with his wife, Valery, and his grandchildren, he used the occasion to rally against the current tone of politics.

“The campaigns are much more cantankerous,” he said during a news conference at his Glendale office. “We need some greater respect for each other.”

Still, Moorhead said he would have sought reelection if House Speaker Newt Gingrich (R-Ga.) had not passed him up for the chairmanship of one of two powerful House committees--Judiciary and Commerce. Instead, he was assigned a lower-profile subcommittee post on courts and intellectual property.

He said he would have sought another term to head one of the more powerful committees because such an assignment would provide more responsibility.

Political analysts saw the announcement as an indication that the Republican Party, in its aggressive pursuit for change on Capitol Hill, had passed Moorhead by.

“A new aggressive Republican has taken charge in the House, and while Moorhead’s ideology is similar to his colleagues, his pragmatic style is a declining commodity on Capitol Hill,” said Thomas Mann, a specialist on Congress at the Brookings Institution. “Carlos Moorhead is a nice, decent guy who found himself left behind.”

Moorhead acknowledged as much, saying he did not want to remain in the House longer than he should, as the new, youthful Congress takes control. “I think some members stay too long,” he said.

Asked if perhaps he is not aggressive enough for the new Republican majority, Moorhead said his philosophy as a Christian is to “love your neighbor as you love yourself.”

“I certainly don’t want to be a mean person,” he added.

In complaining about the increased divisiveness on Capitol Hill, Moorhead may have had in mind his recent run-ins with Rep. Dana Rohrabacher (R-Huntington Beach), who has publicly challenged Moorhead on the floor of the House in a dispute over patent legislation.

Moorhead said he had never seen such behavior before in his long tenure and aides said he was hurt by Rohrabacher’s attacks.

“Most people look at Carlos as being a grandfather figure,” Rohrbacher said at one point. “But sometimes in politics even grandfather figures get bruised up.”

Rohrabacher is scheduled to continue the offensive later this week with a news conference Friday in Moorhead’s district, timed to coincide with a group of inventors who support Rohrabacher’s patent changes and are holding a convention this weekend at the Pasadena Convention Center.

Moorhead, who went to elementary school in Glendale, said he plans on retiring in that city after he leaves the House in January, 1997, after 24 years, but vows to remain active in local politics. “This is my home,” he said.

The announcement is expected to spark a flurry of jockeying for the seat, particularly among state officeholders facing term limits. Moorhead said at the news conference Tuesday that he intends to support Assemblyman James Rogan (R-Glendale) as his successor.

Moorhead, who has been criticized in past campaigns as being too docile and accomplishing little, brushed off such remarks during his news conference, citing the behind-the-scenes role he has played in a variety of issues.

For instance, since 1972, when he won the first of 12 terms, he said he backed an amendment to a bill that made it easier to license hydroelectric generators, developed new safety standards for oil and natural gas interests and has fought for a beefed-up Border Patrol, among other accomplishments.

The 27th Congressional District includes Pasadena, Glendale and such adjacent communities as La Canada Flintridge, La Crescenta, Sunland and Tujunga. Once strongly Republican, the district has become more evenly matched in recent years and even supported Bill Clinton for President in 1992.

A former attorney and member of the California Assembly, Moorhead entered the national spotlight early in his career as the House Judiciary Committee weighed the impeachment of President Richard Nixon. Moorhead stuck by Nixon long after other Republicans had backed away, until the infamous “smoking gun” tapes emerged.

“It’s been an exciting time,” he said of his tenure. “I’ve enjoyed it every step of the way.”

Before beginning the news conference, Moorhead held up a photo of himself when he took office 23 years ago, portraying a young, thin man with a full head of dark hair.

“You can almost give Congress your youth,” he said.