Retiring Congressman Longs For Montana Home
Rep. Pat Williams talked about his career and Congress on Sunday when he held a town meeting, after announcing earlier in the weekend that he will not run for re-election.
Several hundred people packed a Helena convention center and gave Williams, a nine-term Montana Democrat in the U.S. House, a standing ovation as he walked in with his wife, Carol.
Williams, 58, announced Saturday that he will not be a candidate in the November election.
He said he and his wife long for Montana and will move back to the state after he completes his 18th year in Congress next winter.
“I have felt for 18 years like a kid who has his nose pressed against the candy-store window,” Williams said of his desire to fish Montana’s streams and hike its trails.
The announcement that he will not seek another term surprised even the state’s prominent Democrats, who said they had no clue before Saturday that Williams would not run.
Williams’ staff last week publicized the Sunday meeting as an opportunity for people to talk to him about current affairs.
Williams got an assortment of questions about Medicare, water quality and foreign aid, expressions of thanks for his work and queries about the future of Montana’s lone House seat.
He said he wants a Democrat to hold the office, but does not have a favorite potential candidate.
Williams, a liberal in the New Deal style, said he wants to support a candidate who has favorable positions on education, the economy and environmental issues.
He is a former teacher who backs organized labor and generally gets the support of environmental groups.
In remarks Sunday, he said that the country needs a “responsible” minimum wage, and that government programs such as Medicare and grants for college students have helped expand the middle class.
Federal programs can continue to help Americans and the nation’s economy if congressional Republicans will legislate responsibly, he said.
“In America, there are some things we do best when we do it together,” he said.
Looking back on his House career that began in 1978, Williams remembered leaving Montana for Washington with his wife and their three children.
They drove a Chevrolet with a U-Haul on the back, he said, and “when we left, we looked in the rear-view mirror and missed Montana.”
In announcing his retirement, he said a desire to return home was the only reason behind his decision.
Williams, now part of the minority party in Congress, recalled being a freshman in a Democrat-controlled House and meeting the speaker at the time, Rep. Thomas “Tip” O’Neill Jr., D-Mass.
Williams said Saturday that he is unsure where in Montana he will reside, or what his pursuits will be. Possibilities include teaching, writing or starting a foundation, he said.