The center of attention: Jim Walsh announced his retirement in January to a packed office that included his wife DeDe (right), staff members and a crush of media. MICHAEL DAVIS PHOTO

Curiously, New York manages to send more senators and representatives to K Street than any other state. A total of 26 members of New York’s congressional delegation became lobbyists, including Walsh’s predecessor George Wortley and Sen. Alphonse D’Amato, who was recently hired to represent Madison County in Washington.

Since Walsh announced his retirement in January, observers have noticed an even more relaxed attitude in the already relatively laid-back congressman, who lives with his wife DeDe on Onondaga Hill. They have three adult children: Jed, Ben and Maureen. Walsh comes from a long legacy of politicians. His dad, William F. Walsh, served as mayor of Syracuse from 1961 to 1969 and as a member of the House of Representatives from 1973 to 1978; his sister, Martha Walsh Hood, is a state Supreme Court justice; and his brother, William D. Walsh, is an Onondaga County Court judge.

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Walsh is in the process of closing down his district office in Palmyra (after it was redistricted in 2000, the 25th comprises all of Onondaga and Wayne counties, the northernmost part of Cayuga County, and the Monroe County towns of Webster, Penfield and Irondequoit) and, by his own account, has caught more steelhead trout this spring than ever before. 

On a midsummer’s afternoon, Walsh was in his car traveling between Syracuse and Rochester when he took time to speak with The New Times. 

A: I don’t know. I’ve spent a lot of time talking with my colleagues. I’ve spoken with Bob Livingston, who is a good friend. Spoken with Bill Paxon. I’ve spoken with people in different industries. I could see myself in academia, or in some sort of institute to promote good government or good policy. Talked with people in the lobbying business, in consulting, both here and in D.C. And I’ve spoken with a number of companies about sitting on their boards. The constraint is that we can’t really sit down with a potential employer and dot the Is and cross the Ts until we recess, adjourn for the year. So there have been no serious negotiations. 

Q: What would you most enjoy doing?

A: I’ve had a lot of different work opportunities in my life. I’ve worked in an apple orchard, washed trucks, peddled newspapers, worked as a social worker, telecom executive, headed a telecom institute at a university. I’m going to look at everything, then try to sort it out to accomplish a couple of goals. Three goals, actually. First is financial. I’ve got to earn a living, I’m still not ready to retire. The second is an improved quality of life—I’m ready to have nights and weekends to myself. And I want it to be interesting. I’m a curious guy. Life is full of interesting things I haven’t even thought about yet. 

Q: Would you like to run for mayor of Syracuse?

A: No.

Q: Why not?

A: I’ve done enough. There are plenty of other people. It’s time for someone else. 

As president of the Syracuse Common Council, a hairier Jim Walsh quickly got used to having microphones shoved in his face.

As the World Churns 

When Walsh entered Congress in the final days of Ronald Reagan’s presidency, there was no Internet. Cable TV was in its infancy, Syracuse had two daily newspapers, and only doctors had mobile telephones. His tenure saw the fall of the Berlin Wall, two wars in Iraq, the impeachment of a sitting president, the Republican takeover of Congress, the rise and fall of Newt Gingrich as speaker of the House. Locally it was a period of population loss and continued industrial decline for Central New York. 

Q: What are you most proud of from your congressional career?

A: My work on Onondaga Lake. Seeing that lake come back to life, and its usefulness to our community. The Erie Canal National Heritage Corridor—that was done with legislation that I created. That corridor will generate lots of interest and improve those little towns—Chittenango, Lyons. Those towns are gems.

The hearing bill {the 1999 Newborn and Infant Screening and Intervention Program Act}. I wrote the bill to test every baby born in the U.S. to see if it has a hearing loss. It took nine years to get it passed. We are talking about the most common congenital problem among newborns. Before, only 3 percent of babies—3 percent—were tested;  now it’s 96 percent. We’re remediating thousands of babies so they can learn on a par with their peers. It’s revolutionizing deafness in this country.

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The peace process in Ireland is the single most important issue in terms of time. That will affect my life forever. 

Q:  How so?

A: I was a Peace Corps volunteer, working in a small village. It had an impact, but it was very local, very grass-roots. With the Irish peace process, the world set out to put out a fire that had been burning for years, some say 800 years. It ravaged the country and created space for injustice. What we did was to create a space for justice. Hopefully when I meet my maker he’ll look kindly upon me for that.

Q: Any votes you would like to have back?

A: No. I don’t look back. Don’t look back. I just don’t look back. 

Q: You worked closely with former President Clinton on the Irish peace process. Tell us what he was like.

A: I like the man. He’s very engaging. He makes it fun. He is very didactic, preaching a lot. He acts like he’s the only person in the room that matters, but he does it with a smile. 

Q: What about his successor?

A: I like him too. George W. Bush is very personable. He likes to tell a good story. He’s had a lot of things thrust upon him. Clinton created most of his own problems; Bush had his thrust upon him.

Bush will be judged upon one thing: Were we attacked again? And on that he will be judged well.

Q: What has Bush done for Central New York?

A: I can’t think of anything he’s done for Central New York. That’s not his job. That’s more my job. He doesn’t look at regions. His economic development administration has been very helpful in a number of instances. They helped with Prospect Hill {a project to revitalize the neighborhood near St. Joseph’s Hospital Health Center}.

I’ve been able to approach him regarding Ireland. He’s always engaged in things without any real desire to take credit. Clinton was always big on taking credit. Whenever I’ve asked him {Bush} for help he’s always tried.

Q: Was it the right thing to impeach Clinton?

A: Yes. Clinton lied under oath. Nixon was going to be impeached because he lied, not under oath, and he had the good sense to leave. I absolutely believe that Clinton had to be impeached.

Q: That’s one of the things cited when people talk about the increase in partisanship in recent times...

A: You never hear me complain about partisanship. Politics is a contact sport. It’s rough. Back a hundred years they did things a lot worse than we are doing now. The newspapers were partisan. Read the John Adams book. Those people attacked each other; they tried to destroy each other. 

Debate is a substitute for war. It’s better than war. 

In Parliament they have a line dividing the two parties. It is as wide as the length of a sword. The point is that you can’t attack your opponent except with words. 

Q: How has the 25th District changed in these 20 years?

A: It’s less Republican than it was. There are more non-enrolled or independent voters. Now 30 percent of voters are unenrolled. There is a disinvestment in the two-party system. The demographics haven’t changed all that much, but it’s been bumpy due to globalization and to a New York state government which I see as dysfunctional and killing businesses. State government has been that way going back as far as when Nelson Rockefeller was governor {1959-1973}.

But today, at least in Syracuse, we see a fairly robust transformation from manufacturing to information technology. Carrier was half service, half manufacturing. Their management, finance, engineering, research, marketing, warehousing are all here. When the manufacturing left, everything else stayed. We’re seeing more and more of that in other industries. 

Development is done here but the manufacturing is done elsewhere. That’s tough on people who don’t have the education. We have to do a better job of educating people to fill the jobs. There will be plenty of jobs in the future, but very different kinds of jobs. We are going to lose more manufacturing jobs.

Discussing concerns with a farmer in 1988. MICHAEL DAVIS PHOTO

Syracuse is a small city but we are honing in on the right things we need to do to make it a better city. You can see how a little development upturn makes a difference. I’m really proud that I talked to O’Brien & Gere about moving downtown. They wanted to build on the lake; I said come downtown and they are building downtown, and now we have Marriott putting in a hotel there.

Q: How has politics changed?

A: The parties have become weaker. In the old days the Republicans had a very strong centralized party with the ward committee system. In the city all the positions were filled; in the county it was even better. The Democrats always sort of lagged behind, and organizationally they still do, although they do better in the polls. Independent candidates have stolen the impetus. Most successful candidates, myself included, have their own money-raising operation, their own volunteers, their own network, etc. You can see how a guy like Dan Maffei, with no ties to Central New York after graduating high school, comes in with the money from Washington, and he becomes the candidate.

Politics as Unusual 

      Walsh’s analysis of the upcoming elections gives a window into the Republican strategy for the fall, both locally and nationally. If his words are any guide, the plan seems to be to paint Barack Obama as too inexperienced and Maffei as a Washington insider.

Q: Who do you think will win your seat in November?

A: I think Dale Sweetland will win. People have had it with Washington. We’re not taking on the big issues—immigration, energy, etc. I think that Maffei senses what Dale knows—that people want fresh ideas from outside the Beltway. Dale is more conservative than I am in many ways, but his message resonates with Republicans in many ways. 

Q: What advice would you give your successor?

A: I don’t see either of them asking me for advice, but since you asked, I’ll try to come up with something. I’d say this: In this town, there are about 546 votes that count. There are 435 members of Congress, 100 senators, nine Supreme Court justices and two votes in the White House. Get to know those people on a first-name basis. Get to know their interests, what committees they’re on. It’s a small universe. Get to know those people. 

Applauding his dad William on Election Day 2000 (note the stickers supporting his sister Martha, who had run for Family Court Judge). MICHAEL DAVIS PHOTO

Q: Who will win the presidency?

A: John McCain. 

Q: Where do you see the 270 electoral votes coming from?

A: From people who don’t want to vote for Obama. From people who see him as an attractive junior senator from Illinois, with no experience. People are going to say what Hillary Clinton was trying to say: Do you want somebody who lacks experience in the toughest job in the world? 

I just think McCain has the experience. The hotter the fire, the tougher the steel. And I disagree with McCain on a lot of things. I don’t like the way he bashes any and all federal spending. 

Q: You were originally a supporter of Rudy Giuliani. Why was that?

A: Because he was a New Yorker, and because I liked the way he straightened New York City out. He did all the things he needed to do to make a city work. I liked his can-do style.

Q: Why do you think his campaign failed?

A: He didn’t have enough money, and he is a moderate Republican running in a Republican primary. In the primaries the more radical wings of the parties predominate. He didn’t appeal to the Bush voters. 

Q: Will you be involved in the McCain campaign?

A: I’ll be involved in any way I can. I’ve volunteered to help. Typically the Republicans ignore New York state except for fund-raising, which galls me no end. But McCain can win the 25th Congressional District. People like his independent approach. 

Teaching wife DeDe the fundamentals of the game. MICHAEL DAVIS PHOTO

Q: What about the influence of money on politics?

A: I wrote a campaign finance reform bill, that included three things: Nobody could give you more than $200; nobody from outside your district could give you money; none of it could be spent before Labor Day.

Q: What happened to it?

A: It went nowhere. I got about five or six people behind me.

Q: The Supreme Court seems to disagree with you. They consider giving money part of free speech.

A: I think they’re crazy. The more money you have, the more free speech you have? No.

Q: How do you square this concern about the influence of money with the possibility that you might join a lobbying firm? 

A: Lobbying is like any other profession. There are good lobbyists who provide good information on both sides of any issue, and there are unscrupulous ones. 

Strolling with former President Gerald R. Ford in 1988. MICHAEL DAVIS PHOTO

 

Q: What will you miss about the job?

A: I asked my dad what he would miss when he retired, and he said “those great big shrimp you get at the receptions.” But you have to remember that he was there only three terms, and was in the majority the whole time. I was there as a member of the majority party, and as subcommittee chair {appropriations subcommittee dealing with veterans affairs}. I’ve had some significant involvement.

What I’ll miss the most is my ability to solve problems. In the House I could go after the lake, neighborhoods in the city, making sure the 174th {Fighter Wing, based at Hancock Air Base} was secure, water pollution issues, protecting the environment, restoring our downtown. It was very parochial initially. My desires were to fix problems in the community. At the same time I got involved in larger issues. Nutrition became sort of my niche, I guess because of my Peace Corps background. Food for Peace, food stamps, school lunch programs were things I got involved in.

The Irish peace process was not even a twinkle in my eye when I went to D.C., but it took up a huge amount of my time. I’ve always wanted to fix things.

 MICHAEL DAVIS PHOTOS