Democratic Rep. Nita Lowey Announces Retirement After 31 Years

WESTCHESTER COUNTY, NY — A long-time congresswoman from the Hudson Valley has announced her retirement. Rep. Nita Lowey, a Democrat from Harrison, said Thursday she has decided not to seek re-election in 2020.

"After serving in the United States Congress for 31 years, I have decided not to seek re-election next year. It is my deep honor and privilege to serve my community and my country, and I will always be grateful to the people of Westchester, Rockland, Queens and the Bronx who have entrusted me to represent them during my tenure in Congress," Lowey, 82, said in a statement.

"My door remains open, and I'll work hard for you every single day until the end of my term," she said.

Among the accomplishments Lowey cited were securing funding to clean up and protect the Long Island Sound and the Hudson River and increased access to Head Start, after-school programs and community health centers for local children and families.

She represents the 17th Congressional District, which is comprised of central and northwestern Westchester County and all of Rockland County.

This is Lowey's 16th term in Congress, having been first elected to Congress in 1988.

She was the first woman to chair the House Appropriations Committee.

Lowey was born in the Bronx and graduated from the Bronx High School of Science. She received a bachelor's degree from Mount Holyoke College.

She served as assistant secretary of state for New York before being elected to Congress.

Lowey and her husband, Stephen Lowey, have been married for more than 50 years and have three grown children and eight grandchildren, according to her House website.

Governor Andrew Cuomo said Lowey has served with strength, determination and grace for 31 years.

"And I speak for countless New Yorkers when I say we are eternally grateful for her unwavering commitment to improving the lives of those around her," he said in a statement.

"Like my father before me, I have had the pleasure of working alongside Congresswoman Lowey and consider her to be a true partner in making New York a better place," Cuomo said.

"She will always be a dear friend to me — just as she was to my father — and to my entire family, and I look forward to our continued friendship in our years to come," he said.

Mondaire Jones, a Democrat from Rockland County, had hoped to primary Lowey. He issued a statement Thursday thanking her for her years of service.

"As a trailblazer for women and minorities such as myself, Congresswoman Lowey set an example and has made it easier for people like me to run for office," Jones said in a statement.

Jones describes himself an "a 32-year-old, openly gay, black man" in his statement.

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