Analyst: Redrawn Political Map Drove 30-Year San Dimas Congressman To Retire
SAN DIMAS (CBS) — A Southland lawmaker who has served in Congress for over three decades announced his retirement on Wednesday.
Longtime San Dimas-area Republican Congressman David Drier cited "abysmally low approval rating" that Congress has received from the public in his announcement on the House floor.
Dreier, 59, is the sixth California House member to announce he will retire when his term expires in the wake of a redistricting effort that saw his residence in a district dominated by Latino voters who helped then-presidential hopeful Barack Obama defeat Republican John McCain in the 2008 presidential race, according to the Los Angeles Times.
GOP strategist Mike Murphy told KNX 1070 NEWSRADIO that redistricting is undoubtedly the driving force behind Dreier's announcement.
"He had been thinking about perhaps retiring, but when his district went away, he said 'Maybe now is the time,'" said Murphy.
Dreier, who chaired the powerful House Rules Committee that determines which measures proceed to the House floor, was elected to Congress in Ronald Reagan's 1980 landslide victory.
Murphy said Dreier has a reputation as a "conservative who's effective but also has kind of a non-angry vibe, a very positive person who was able to work in a bipartisan fashion with other members of the delegation to get a lot done for California".
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