After Four Terms, CA Sen. Barbara Boxer Says She Won't Seek Re-Election

By Bay City News Service and Autumn Johnson:

Four-term U.S. Sen. Barbara Boxer, D-California, will not run for re-election next year, she announced Thursday morning.

In a video interview with her oldest grandson, Zach Rodham, Boxer said she would not seek a fifth term in the Senate but was emphatic that she was not retiring from political work.

Instead, she will focus on the activities of her political action committee, “PAC for a Change,” getting Democratic candidates elected to Congress, and supporting her party’s next presidential nominee.

“Age not a factor -- some people are old at 40 and some people are young at 80. It depends on the person. As for me, I feel as young as I did when I got elected,” Boxer, 74, said in the video.

She has held public office since she was elected to the Marin County Board of Supervisors in 1976, where she was the board’s first woman president.

For six years, she served on the Board of Supervisors, until she was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives in 1982 for a district that at the time encompassed Marin County.

She was elected to the U.S. Senate in 1992. But after more than three decades in Washington, Boxer said, “I want to come home. I want to come home to the state I love so much -- California.”

Boxer closed her video announcement with a poem:

“The Senate is the place where I’ve always made my case for families, for the planet and the human race. More than 20 years in a job I love thanks to California and the lord above. So although I won’t be working for my Senate space and I won’t be running in that next tough race, as long as there are issues and challenges and strife, I will never retire, because that’s the meaning of my life.”

U.S. Representative Eric Swalwell (CA-15) today issued the following statement after Senator Barbara Boxer’s announcement that she will be retiring at the end of her current Senate term:

“Senator Boxer has been a champion for California her entire career. Growing up in California and now representing Alameda and Contra Costa Counties, I have long admired Senator Boxer’s accomplishments and leadership. Thanks to Senator Boxer, our air and water are cleaner, our energy is greener, and our Bay Area economy has grown. In the East Bay, we can thank Senator Boxer for infrastructure improvements from expanded highways to the extension of BART.

“An advocate for women and families, Senator Boxer has paved the way for better access to healthcare, preschool, and has stood strong for our nation’s veterans. I am grateful for her strong leadership and look forward to continuing to work with her on issues important to Californians, like addressing climate change and bringing the innovation economy to all families. Her legacy will burn on for generations to come.”

Following the announcement of her retirement, the Human Rights Campaign issued the following statement:

In light of today’s news that U.S. Senator Barbara Boxer (D-CA) will retire at the end of her current term, the Human Rights Campaign (HRC), the nation’s largest lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) civil rights organization, is highlighting her outstanding service, commitment to LGBT equality and support for fairness for all Americans.

“Senator Boxer has been a trailblazing champion of equality for LGBT people since her earliest days in public office,” said HRC President Chad Griffin. “She was a leader against DOMA and ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell’ when many of her colleagues either championed or quietly voted for the discriminatory legislation. LGBT Americans need more principled leaders like Barbara Boxer fighting for full equality. We congratulate and thank her for her exceptional years of service and look forward to continuing to work with her throughout the remainder of her term.”

Senator Boxer has steadfastly stood on the right side of history on issue after issue of LGBT equality, including leading the fight against “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” in 1993, being one of only 14 Senators to vote against the discriminatory Defense of Marriage Act in 1996, and securing passage of the HOPE act to lift the ban on HIV+ organ donations. She has consistently scored a perfect 100 on the HRC Congressional Scorecard.

(Patch file photo via the Office of Sen. Boxer)