Cardoza to resign immediately

Citing sensitive family needs, Rep. Dennis Cardoza, D-Merced, hastendered his immediate resignation from the House of Representatives and joined a lobbyingfirm. The surprisingly timed departure takes effect at midnight.

A veteran San Joaquin Valley politician first elected to the House in 2002, the 53-year-oldCardoza will be joining the law-and-lobbying powerhouse Manatt, Phelps and Phillips in itsWashington, D.C. office.

Cardoza had previously announced he would not run for re-election. While citing the toxicpartisan gridlock on Capitol Hill, he primarily attributed his speeded-up timing to growingburdens on the home front.

“In light of the fact that nothing is going to happen for the rest of the year, and in light of thefact that (my wife) and I are facing increasing parenting challenges, this seemed the right time tomake this move,” Cardoza said in an interview Monday.

Cardoza and his wife, Dr. Kathleen McLoughlin, have three children: a biological daughterand two adopted siblings. The adopted children, a brother and sister originally from Kern County,joined the Cardoza household in 2000 after living in foster homes. They are now teenagers.

Cardoza has previously spoken publicly, in general terms, about the dangers posed to foster-care children exposed at a young age to unstable households and drugs like methamphetamine,and he has won bipartisan praise for legislation he’s introduced to address some of the relatedproblems. He said his children’s privacy rights prevent him from offering more details about theircurrent status.

“My wife and I have been meeting these increasing challenges of parenting,” Cardoza said.

Other lawmakers have made similar choices, drawing attention to the constant tensionbetween keeping a family and enduring the long hours and constant travel required of membersof Congress. Last month, similarly citing an unspecified “family health issue,” KentuckyRepublican Geoff Davis announced his immediate resignation. Joe Scarborough, now an MSNBCpersonality, cited his children in 2001 when he resigned five months into his fourth House term.

A senior member of the House Agriculture Committee, and a one-time member of theextended House leadership team, Cardoza said some job feelers were extended to him soon afterhe announced his retirement plans. He said he did not pursue the opportunities at the time. OnMonday, he expressed interest in potentially serving on some corporate boards and in investmentbanking.

“I’m not leaving my service to the Valley,” Cardoza said. “I’ll just be doing it from a differentvenue.”

Several hours after news broke of Cardoza’s resignation Tuesday afternoon, the Manatt firmannounced he would be joining the company. He is not a lawyer, though he has worked in local,state and federal government for years.

“His expertise with California issues, as well as his deep experience and insight into bothfederal and state affairs, makes him a terrific resource,” declared Jim Bonham, chairman of the firm’sfederal government affairs and public policy group.

The Manatt firm, some of whose leaders have long been associated with the Democratic Party,is currently registered to lobby for clients ranging from the city of West Sacramento and DelMonte Foods to the Outdoor Advertising Association of America, among others.

Under current ethics rules, Cardoza will be able to offer strategic and tactical adviceimmediately, but must refrain from formal lobbying for a year. Cardoza said he signed recusaldocuments when he began negotiating with the Manatt firm, roughly 10 days ago.

Though Cardoza’s wife and three children moved from Merced County to join him in a ruralMaryland residence several years ago, he has largely continued to make cross-country treksevery week. Often, this has meant flying to California on Friday and returning on a red-eye flightSunday night, arriving early Monday morning.

“It’s incredibly difficult to work the hours required, especially coming from a Western state,”Cardoza said.

The timing of Cardoza’s resignation means there will be no special election to fill his 18thCongressional District seat, which encompasses parts of San Joaquin, Stanislaus and Mercedcounties. His office staff will remain, taking care of constituent services but steering clear ofpolitical advocacy. Cardoza informed most of his staffers of his resignation plans in an emotionaltelephone conference call Monday.

His departure leaves House Republicans with a 240-190 majority over Democrats, with fiveHouse vacancies; by most political assessments, Republicans are favored to retain control of theHouse following the November elections.

Cardoza had announced last October he would not run for reelection, after the bipartisanCalifornia Citizens Redistricting Commission carved the San Joaquin Valley into new Housedistricts. The redistricting essentially left Cardoza the choice of either retiring or facing offagainst his longtime friend and ally, Rep. Jim Costa, D-Fresno.

Cardoza entered his political career as a staffer, working for former state assemblyman andlater Congressman Gary Condit. Though their relationship soured when Cardoza challengeda politically weakened Condit in 2002 -- the two men haven’t spoken in the past 10 years –Cardoza retained several key Condit staffers and on Monday he offered praise for his one-timementor.

Like Condit, Cardoza was for a time a leading voice in the Blue Dog Coalition, a group ofmoderate-to-conservative House Democrats who tried to steer their party toward the center evenas party leaders came from the left.

As a member for four years of the quietly powerful House Rules Committee, he described hisrole as bringing centrist positions into play. Locally, he was active both publicly and behind thescenes on issues ranging from securing funding for fruit-and-vegetable growers to smoothing theway for the University of California at Merced.

“U.C. Merced would not exist today if it were not for Dennis Cardoza,” former state AssemblySpeaker Robert Hertzberg said in a statement, further calling Cardoza’s efforts “leadership at itsbest.”

The Blue Dogs have lost numbers and clout in recent years, and Cardoza stepped down fromthe rules panel following the 2010 election. He and Costa cast what amounted to protest votes lastyear rather than support San Francisco Democrat Nancy Pelosi as House party leader.

The House is currently out on summer recess. It is only expected to be in session for aboutseven working days in September, and then will adjourn again in October so members cancampaign for reelection. A lameduck session will occur between November and January; theprospects for legislative achievement are uncertain.

CARDOZA BIO

BORN: March 31, 1959

FAMILY: Married to Dr. Kathleen McLoughlin. Three children: Joey, Brittany and Elaina.

EDUCATION: Attended CSU, Stanislaus, and graduated from the University of Maryland

in 1982.

POLITICAL CAREER: Atwater City Council, 1984-1986; Merced City Council, 1994-1995; California Assembly, 1996-2002; House of Representatives, 2003-Aug. 2012

This story was originally published August 14, 2012 at 9:48 AM with the headline "Cardoza to resign immediately."