This article first appeared in the St. Louis Beacon, Dec. 12, 2012 - U.S. Rep. Russ Carnahan, D-St. Louis, isn’t sure exactly what he will be doing when in a few weeks he ends his career representing Missouri’s old 3rd District.
But he does know what he won’t be doing. He won’t run in the soon-to-be-vacated 8th congressional district, which as of January will take in part of the old 3rd District turf.
And rumors to the contrary, Carnahan says he definitely won’t be running for St. Louis mayor, which would pit him against incumbent Francis Slay and Board of President Lewis Reed, a personal friend.
“I think I have been the subject of hundreds of rounds of speculation,” said Carnahan with a chuckle, during a telephone interview Wednesday with the Beacon.
Carnahan is currently in Washington during Congress’ lame-duck session, as members negotiate with the White House and each other over the “fiscal cliff” of automatic spending cuts and tax hikes that will go into effect Jan. 1 if an alternative deal isn’t reached.
Carnahan is seeking a balanced approach, he said, that also protects low-income and middle-class Americans. Among other things, he said he opposes many Republican proposals to curb entitlements, such as raising the eligibility age for Medicare, which provides health coverage for people age 65 and over.
The soon-to-be ex-congressman also is focusing on some pieces of legislation he hopes to get passed during these last weeks, such as a provision aimed at promoting the manufacture and sale of energy-efficient heating, ventilating and air conditioning (HVAC) systems. Carnahan said the provision will help a St. Louis-based company, Unico.
Carnahan and his staff are conducting their business in makeshift quarters in the U.S. House’s Longworth office building, after having to vacate the congressman’s official office so it can go to an incoming member of Congress.
Carnahan lost his office, and his seat, as a result of Missouri’s loss of a congressional seat after the national 2010 census. The new boundary lines drawn up by the Republican-controlled General Assembly cut up Carnahan’s district into four parts – each doled out to a different surviving district.
Carnahan sought last summer to remain in Congress by challenging fellow Democrat William Lacy Clay Jr. in the redrawn 1st District. Carnahan blamed Clay for the General Assembly’s override of Gov. Jay Nixon’s veto of the new map, seen as anti-Democrat. Two of the four Democratic legislators who voted for the override came from Clay’s district.
Clay soundly defeated Carnahan, setting the latter on a path of reflection – and job-seeking – as he considers what he’ll do next.
“I’m engaging in many, many conversations with people about what I’ll be doing,” Carnahan said.
Is he seeking a federal position? “I have an interest in helping the president and his team in his second term and what that looks like has yet to be determined,” Carnahan said.
Carnahan emphasized that he hopes to remain involved in public service, but added that doesn’t mean he’ll be in a public post. Rather, Carnahan – a lawyer – may choose to do something in the private sector.
His professional changes extend to his personal situation. Carnahan and his wife Debra, a former St. Louis judge, have vacated the house they’d been renting in suburban Washington now that their sons – who both graduated from high school in Alexandria, Va. – are both attending colleges back in Missouri.
Carnahan said he and his wife are residing with family in Washington, as they await a decision on whether he’ll have a job in the nation’s capital or somewhere else.
As he considers his options, Carnahan said he wants to keep in mind the issues that he had most focused on during his eight years in Congress, such as energy, the economy and foreign affairs.
Among his proudest achievements, he said, were his numerous town halls – often packed with people, and some notably combative during the 2009 and 2010 health care debates.
The gatherings, he said with all sincerity, “got people engaged.”
