This article first appeared in the St. Louis Beacon, Dec. 3, 2012 - WASHINGTON – The dean of Missouri’s delegation in Congress, U.S. Rep. Jo Ann Emerson, announced Monday that she will leave the House in February to head the National Rural Electric Cooperative Association.
"I am not leaving Congress because I have lost my heart for service – to the contrary – I see a new way to serve,” Emerson said in a statement. “I did not go seeking this opportunity, but I am excited about the new challenge it offers to find ways to promote strong rural policy.”
Emerson told reporters during a conference call Monday that officials with the NRECA first approached her about the job shortly after the Nov. 6 election. The board announced her hiring Monday, saying that "the respect she has from both sides of the aisle and her proven ability to bridge political and policy divides and find common ground will serve NRECA well.”
Emerson, R-Cape Girardeau, represents Missouri's 8th District, which has been based in southeast Missouri -- but as of redistricting goes north into the St. Louis area and includes part of Jefferson County.
In her new position, she will be chief executive of the NRECA, which is the service organization for more than 900 not-for-profit rural electric coops and public power districts. These provide retail electric service to 42 million consumers in 47 states. It has about 800 employees, and its retail sales account for 12 percent of U.S. electricity sales.
Emerson told reporters she will retire from the House on Feb. 8 and start her new job on Feb. 11. She confirmed that she will be paid more than her congressional salary. She said she sees the new job as "an extension of the job that I'm doing now."
Rural electric cooperatives "built America," she said. At least nine such cooperatives operate in her 8th District.
The NRECA also has been Emerson's top donor, according to the nonpartisan Center for Responsive Politics, which says that the association has given her campaigns more than $79,000 during her political career.
Special election to be called
The state Republican Party says that Gov. Jay Nixon, a Democrat, must call a special election in 10 weeks. However, Secretary of State Robin Carnahan's staff said the governor is under no such time restriction.
Both sides do agree on the procedures. District leaders for each party will choose a nominee to run for the seat.
On the Republican side, state GOP executive director Lloyd Smith, her former chief of staff, is believed to have the inside track if he wants it. Smith said late Monday he is interested in the seat.
However, a number of other prominent Republicans from southeast Missouri also could seek the seat, which has been held by either Emerson or her late first husband, Bill Emerson, for more than 30 years.
The possible GOP names include: Lt. Gov. Peter Kinder (who already has announced his interest), former state Treasurer Sarah Steelman, former state House Speaker Steve Tilley, soon-to-be former state Sen. Jason Crowell, former state House Speaker Rod Jetton, state Reps. Todd Richardson and Jason Smith, and top Emerson aide Josh Haynes.
On the Democratic side, names circulating include military veteran Tommy Sowers, who unsuccessfully challenged Emerson in 2010, and soon-to-be former U.S. Rep. Russ Carnahan, D-St. Louis, since part of his former district will soon be within the new 8th District.
Outgoing Secretary of State Robin Carnahan, the congressman's sister, also has been mentioned. The family has a homestead in Rolla, Mo., in the 8th District.
Emerson told reporters Monday that she "will have no input whatsoever" in the GOP committee's decision on the nominee to run for her House seat. "I need to stay out of it."
First Missouri GOP woman elected to Congress
Emerson said she decided to retire from the House in February -- rather than the end of the current Congress in early January -- “to ensure the gap in [the district’s] representation is as brief as possible.”
“We’ve got many issues to deal with in this Congress," including the fiscal cliff debate, she told reporters. "And the shortest amount of time possible between when I resign and the governor sets a new election is better for my constituents.”
Emerson, 62, was the first Republican woman elected to the U.S. Congress from Missouri. She succeeded her late husband, former U.S. Rep. Bill Emerson, after his death in 1996. Last month, she was re-elected with 72 percent of the vote in her district.
She had been among the high-profile Republicans who had been unsuccessfully courted to run for the U.S. Senate this fall against Democrat Claire McCaskill, who just won re-election.
However, Emerson's name also has emerged frequently in recent years in connection with potential top jobs with various major industry associations. Emerson is married to Ron Gladney, a prominent St. Louis labor lawyer and a Democrat.
One of several moderate House members to leave Congress in the past year, Emerson had expressed frustration about the worsening polarization in Congress in recent years. She told the Beacon last summer that, because some factions refuse compromise, the “political season” in Congress – traditionally, in the year before lawmakers' elections – “is now two years instead of one year.”
In the past, Emerson said, “you always knew that in the first year you could get some good legislation done. Politics comes into it way too early now. And I think that’s a disservice to the public and to the people that we serve.”
But Emerson denied Monday that her frustration was a factor in her decision to leave Congress. “Absolutely not," she said, in response to a Beacon question. "It’s always been my belief that we have to ... have folks working to find common ground. The challenges our country faces require it."
During her 16 years in the U.S. House, Emerson had gained a reputation as a generally moderate Republican who has been a voice for compromise and civility in discourse. She has been a leader of the Tuesday Group of House GOP centrists, as well as an active member of the Center Aisle Caucus, a bipartisan group of House members who foster civil dialogue.
As the longest-serving member of Missouri’s congressional delegation, Emerson also has been a go-to House Republican on some funding issues – a consequence of her seniority, her pragmatism and her chairmanship of an House Appropriations subcommittee.
Asked to name some of her most memorable achievements in Congress, she listed her pursuit of "common-sense solutions" to major issues; her battle against high drug costs; championing construction of the Bill Emerson Bridge; and her efforts to help the constituents recover from floods and storms, including the nearly completed rebuilding of the blasted Birds Point-New Madrid levee on the Mississippi River.
Since becoming the delegation's dean in early 2011, she’s held monthly breakfast meetings of the state’s House and Senate members in her office on Capitol Hill. Most of them praise her efforts to benefit the state.
Bipartisan praise for Emerson
U.S. Sen. Roy Blunt, R-Mo., who started in the House in January 1997, will become the "dean," or the longest-serving member, of the delegation when Emerson leaves.
In a statement Monday, Blunt said, “Jo Ann is a great friend and a great member of Congress. No one would be better at defending rural electric cooperatives, which play a critically important part in connecting rural Americans to the resources they need. I know that Jo Ann will continue serving Missourians in this new role as she fights for rural communities in our state and across America.”
McCaskill, D-Mo., congratulated Emerson "on her years of work for Missouri. Jo Ann is a middle-of-the-road moderate — an approach I know firsthand can sometimes be a lonely one. Our state has benefited from Jo Ann’s public service, and I wish her the best and look forward to continuing our work together for Missouri.”
In the House, U.S. Rep. William Lacy Clay, D-St. Louis, will become the longest serving Missouri member, having taken office in January 2001.
In a statement, Clay said Emerson “has represented southeast Missouri with honor and integrity. Jo Ann has always been a voice of calm, reason and common sense. She is a skilled legislator, a wonderful colleague and a great friend of mine."
Clay added: "Congresswoman Emerson represents the best of Missouri. I will miss her wise voice as Democrats and Republicans seek common ground to move the nation forward.”
U.S. Rep. Todd Akin, R-Wildwood, who will leave Congress at the end of this month, said Emerson “has served her district well and faithfully and her voice will be missed in Congress. I wish her well in her new venture.”
U.S. Rep. Blaine Luetkemeyer, R-St. Elizabeth, called Emerson “a tireless advocate for the people of southern Missouri in Congress. As the dean of our delegation, she has taught all of us a lot, particularly when it comes to constituent service."
Luetkemeyer added: "I look forward to continue working with her in her new capacity on behalf of rural Missouri and wish her the best of luck in her future endeavors."
Ann Wagner, the GOP's newly elected member of Congress from the 2nd District, in the St. Louis area, praised Emerson as "a tireless advocate for farm families and a constant defender of conservative Missouri values. And although I will miss the chance to serve with Jo Ann" in the House, "our friendship and my respect for her service and character is profound. I wish Jo Ann and her family all the best in this new and exciting endeavor."
Missouri Republican Party chairman Dave Cole said in a statement: “Congresswoman Jo Ann Emerson has been a great leader and tireless public servant for the people of the 8th District. She is a beloved member of the community, and we know that, in or out of government, she will continue her service to the people of southeast Missouri."
Cole said, "As we move forward, the Missouri Republican Party is committed to working with the 8th congressional district committee as they begin the process of selecting a nominee to ensure that the district remains a Republican stronghold.”
Gov. Jay Nixon, who will set the election to choose Emerson's successor, said in a statement, "Congresswoman Emerson has been a champion for the people of southeast Missouri and our entire state and has reached across the aisle numerous times in a bipartisan way to pass legislation.
"As both governor and attorney general, I have been honored to work closely with her many times to benefit Missouri, especially on agricultural, energy and river management issues. I wish her well in her new position after she leaves Congress.”
Pledges to keep working for rural Missouri
Emerson, as the incoming NRECA chief, said she plans to “continue her advocacy for rural communities in Missouri and throughout the country.”
“Over the years, first Bill [Emerson] and then I have really taken great pride in creating a strong legacy for southern Missouri, for making sure that southern Missouri does matter in the Congress," she told reporters.
Announcing Emerson as its new chief executive, NRECA Board President Mike Guidry said the association chose her after an “exhaustive search.”
“Her background as a member of Congress and a trade association executive – coupled with her extensive knowledge of the issues facing electric cooperatives and rural America – make Jo Ann eminently qualified to lead NRECA and represent the interests of our members,” he said in a statement.
Guidry said “the respect she has from both sides of the aisle and her proven ability to bridge political and policy divides and find common ground will serve NRECA well.” Emerson will take over for long-time NRECA chief executive Glenn English, who announced his retirement earlier this year.
In a statement on the NRECA website, Emerson said that "energy has a direct relationship with the vitality of rural America. Without reliable, affordable electricity delivered by electric cooperatives serving thousands of communities, millions of Americans would be left without the energy that brings economic opportunity, unsurpassed quality of life, and the promise of growth in the future.”
Emerson added that NRECA “is committed to the electric cooperatives of this great nation that fulfill this vital need, and work so hard every day to improve the quality of life for their member-owners. I am so very honored to join an outstanding organization to work on their behalf.”
Text of Emerson's announcement
Emerson’s retirement statement, issued Monday morning, follows:
"The people of southern Missouri have entrusted their voice in Congress to me for 16 years. Serving them is a humbling experience, a great honor and a welcome challenge. Our congressional district is big, it is diverse, and it demands practical representation by someone who places us and our home ahead of politics and partisanship.
“The people of our district demand results, they want us to work together, and they have every right to a representative who works as hard as they do. Every day in Congress, that is my goal.
"I am going to miss the constituents I work with every day, the thousands of small business owners, compassionate families, community leaders, students and servicemembers who define the character of southern Missouri. My respect for them is boundless, and I will never forget the wonderful friendships I have gained through my service in Congress.
“The vitality of rural America depends on the hard work and optimism of the people who make their communities special. We are fortunate to have no shortage of that rare quality of American in southern Missouri. And I plan to stay in Congress as long as I can to ensure the gap in their representation is as brief as possible.
"I am not leaving Congress because I have lost my heart for service -- to the contrary -- I see a new way to serve. I did not go seeking this opportunity, but I am excited about the new challenge it offers to find ways to promote strong rural policy.
"And I would be remiss if I did not also mention the dozens of staff members who have made helping our constituents their vocation. I have always had the very best staff in Congress, and people in southern Missouri are truly fortunate that some of the best staff members and casework professionals in the country are working hard for them.
“Over the years, first Bill and then I have taken great pride in creating a strong legacy for Southern Missouri, for making sure southern Missouri matters in Congress. Our district has earned its reputation for commonsense above all else, and I will leave Congress in February with a heavy heart despite my confidence that southern Missouri and its standard for leadership will endure.”
Jason Rosenbaum of the Beacon staff contributed information for this article.
