Sherwood Boehlert

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Sherwood Boehlert
U.S. House of Representatives
from New York
In office
January 3, 1983 – January 3, 2007
Preceded byHamilton Fish IV
Succeeded byMike Arcuri
Constituency25th district (1983–1993)
23rd district (1993–2003)
24th district (2003–2007)
Executive of Oneida County
In office
January 1, 1980 – December 31, 1982
Preceded byWilliam Bryant
Succeeded byJohn Plumley
Personal details
Born
Sherwood Louis Boehlert

(1936-09-28)September 28, 1936
Utica, New York, U.S.
DiedSeptember 20, 2021(2021-09-20) (aged 84)
New Hartford, New York, U.S.
Political partyRepublican
Spouses
Jean Bone
​
​
(m. 1959; div. 1976)​
Marianne Willey
​
(m. 1976)​
Education
Utica College (BA
)
Sherwood Boehlert's voice
Sherwood Boehlert speaks in support of FY2006 appropriations for science-focused government agencies
Recorded November 9, 2005

Sherwood Louis Boehlert (September 28, 1936 – September 20, 2021) was an American

Science Committee
from 2001 to 2006.

Early life, education, and early political career

Sherwood Louis Boehlert was born on September 28, 1936, in

Utica College. He was a practicing Roman Catholic.[2][3] He served two years in the United States Army (1956–1958) and then worked as a manager of public relations for Wyandotte Chemical Company. After leaving Wyandotte, Boehlert served as Chief of Staff for two upstate Congressmen, Alexander Pirnie and Donald J. Mitchell;[4] following this, he was elected the county executive of Oneida County, New York
, serving from 1979 to 1983. After his four-year term as county executive, he ran successfully for Congress in the elections of 1982. He was re-elected to every Congress subsequent until his retirement.

U.S. House of Representatives

Elections

Mitchell did not run for reelection in 1982. Boehlert entered the Republican primary to succeed him in the district, which had been renumbered from the 31st to the 25th in redistricting. He won the primary with 56% of the vote.[5] He won the general election by defeating Democrat Anita Maxwell 56%–42%.[6]

After that, he won re-election every two years until he decided to retire and not seek re-election, in 2006. His district number changed twice, each time after redistricting—from the 25th (1983-1993) to the 23rd (1993-2003) to the 24th (2003- 2007). He was challenged in the Republican primary five times: 1986 (67%),[7] 1996 (65%),[8] 2000 (57%),[9] 2002 (53%),[10] and 2004 (60%).[11] His lowest re-election winning percentage in the general election was 57%, in his last re-election in 2004, when he defeated Democrat Jeff Miller 57%–34%.[12]

Tenure

Boehlert's official portrait (painted by Laurel Boeck) as Science and Technology Committee Chairman

Boehlert is best known for his work on environmental policy. Beginning in the 1980s with the

Time Magazine also recognized Boehlert as a "power center" on Capitol Hill and Congressional Quarterly named him one of the 50 most effective Members of Congress. Boehlert was a member of several national moderate GOP groups including the Republican Main Street Partnership and the Ripon Society.[citation needed
]

Boehlert at a press conference

On the Science Committee, Boehlert championed investments in the

National Academy of Sciences report Rising Above the Gathering Storm on retaining U.S. leadership in science and engineering, as well as the American Competitiveness Initiative
introduced by President Bush in 2006.

Boehlert was an active promoter of

volunteer firefighters[14] and original member and Chairman of the Congressional Fire Services Caucus
.

On March 17, 2006, at a press conference Boehlert announced that he would not seek a thirteenth term in office. Several important landmarks are named for Boehlert that reflect his work on transportation and science issues. These include the renovated Union Station in Utica and the new science facilities[15] of the Air Force Research Laboratory—Information Directorate in Rome, New York.[16]

Committee assignments

Boehlert served on the Science Committee for his entire congressional career. In addition, he was the third-ranking member of the

House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence
, serving as interim chairman in 2004.

Post-congressional career

After 2007, Boehlert remained active promoting environmental and scientific causes. He served on the Board of the bipartisan

Alliance for Climate Protection chaired by former Vice President Al Gore. Boehlert served as a Senior Fellow at the Bipartisan Policy Center.[17] He was a member of the ReFormers Caucus of Issue One.[18]

In 2016, Boehlert endorsed Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton for president,[19] and in 2018, he endorsed Democratic candidate Anthony Brindisi for New York's 22nd congressional district, which contained much of Boehlert's former district.[20]

Death

Boehlert died from complications of dementia at a hospice care facility in New Hartford, New York, on September 20, 2021, at age 84.[21][22] His Funeral Mass was held at Our Lady of Lourdes, Utica, New York, on September 27, 2021.[23]

References

  1. ^ Roberts, Sam (September 24, 2021). "Sherwood Boehlert, a G.O.P Moderate in the House, Dies at 84". The New York Times. Retrieved September 24, 2021.
  2. ^ Profile, cen.acs.org. Accessed April 11, 2022.
  3. ^ Profile, cnn.com. Accessed April 11, 2022.
  4. ^ "Boehlert Begins Plans for Transition; Calls Pawlinga and Eilenberg", The Observer-Dispatch, Utica, New York, p. 1, November 7, 1973
  5. ^ Our Campaigns – NY District 25 – R Primary Race – Sep 23, 1982
  6. ^ Our Campaigns – Race
  7. ^ Our Campaigns – NY District 25 – R Primary Race – Sep 09, 1986
  8. ^ Our Campaigns – NY District 23 – R Primary Race – Sep 10, 1996
  9. ^ Our Campaigns – NY District 23 – R Primary Race – Sep 12, 2000
  10. ^ Our Campaigns – NY District 24 – R Primary Race – Sep 10, 2002
  11. ^ Our Campaigns – NY – District 24 – R Primary Race – Sep 14, 2004
  12. ^ Our Campaigns – NY District 24 Race – Nov 02, 2004
  13. National Archives
    .
  14. ^ National Volunteer Fire Council Presents Appreciation Award to Rep. Sherwood Boehlert "NVFC - News". Archived from the original on July 27, 2011. Retrieved February 17, 2011.
  15. ^ "Lab building to be named for Boehlert". Rome Daily Sentinel. Rome, NY. Retrieved October 6, 2015. Rep. Michael A. Arcuri and Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton today announced that Building #3 at the lab will be formally named the "Sherwood Boehlert Center of Excellence for Information Science and Technology."
  16. ^ "Rome Daily Sentinel".
  17. ^ "Senior Fellows, Bipartisan Policy Center" Archived December 16, 2018, at the Wayback Machine, bipartisanpolicy.org. Accessed April 11, 2022.
  18. ^ "Issue One – ReFormers Caucus". 2023.
  19. ^ McCaskill, Nolan D. (September 29, 2016). "Clinton camp rolls out more GOP endorsements". POLITICO. Retrieved July 30, 2023.
  20. ^ Weiner, Mark (November 2, 2018). "Former GOP Rep. Sherwood Boehlert endorses Brindisi". syracuse. Retrieved July 30, 2023.
  21. ^ Weiner, Mark (September 21, 2021). "Former Rep. Sherwood Boehlert, leading GOP voice on environment, dies at 84". The Post-Standard. Retrieved September 21, 2021.
  22. ^ Roberts, Sam (September 24, 2021). "Sherwood Boehlert, a G.O.P Moderate in the House, Dies at 84". The New York Times. Retrieved September 24, 2021.
  23. ^ Obituary, obits.syracuse.com. Accessed April 11, 2022.

External links

U.S. House of Representatives
Preceded by Member of the
U.S. House of Representatives
from New York's 25th congressional district

1983–1993 		Succeeded by
Preceded by
Michael R. McNulty
 Member of the
U.S. House of Representatives
from New York's 23rd congressional district

1993–2003 		Succeeded by
Preceded by Chair of the House Science Committee
2001–2007 		Succeeded by
Preceded by Member of the
U.S. House of Representatives
from New York's 24th congressional district

2003–2007 		Succeeded by
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