SYRACUSE -- Former Democratic Congressman Dan Maffei, who narrowly lost the last election to Republican Ann Marie Buerkle, has told his core supporters he wants their input on whether he should get into the next race for Congress in Central New York.
In the months since his loss, Maffei says he can't help but feel that he disappointed many supporters by not pulling off a victory.
Here is the letter Maffei sent out to his supporters:
I apologize for not writing sooner. Although I have done only a few public appearances since last November's election, I want you to know that I have not wavered in my belief in the potential of Central and Upstate New York and that better days are ahead both for our region and for our country. Nonetheless, this is not an easy time economically or politically. I hope you can understand how personally difficult it has been to recover from the loss in the November election -- with me losing by just 648 votes and Democrats losing 63 seats in the House of Representatives. If you know me well, you know I never took anyone's support for granted and worked hard every day. Nationwide, the great Speaker Thomas "Tip" O'Neill's adage that "all politics is local" just did not hold and it did not hold in our district either. However, as a human being, part of me can't help but feel that I disappointed my many supporters by not pulling off the victory that you worked hard and contributed to achieve.
In the months that have followed the election, I have done some important soul searching as well as recovering and finding new challenges. You may have heard of my work for Third Way, an influential moderate "think tank" organization that advances policy ideas for - among other things - private-sector economic growth and the clean energy revolution. Much of my work at Third Way specifically focuses on creating a more pro-growth tax policy that encourages companies to hire more people in the U.S. - something I worked on very hard during my time as a Member of Congress and as a staff person. I am also working on projects aiming to get Congress and the Federal government to work again in a more collaborative and bipartisan way where independents and moderates have more influence than the two parties' extremes. I have been doing a lot of travel that I was not able to do as a member of Congress - sometimes for speaking or teaching engagements and sometimes to catch up with family and friends.
I have been asked many times what my future plans are and if I intend to seek a return to public office. I understand that the closeness of last year's election would naturally lead to these kinds of questions. I want you to know that I am strongly considering running again for Congress in 2012. Whatever the future may hold, one thing is clear. We cannot give up on our region or in the idea of broad-based moderate representation that takes into account the many diverse groups in upstate New York. So far, my successor has shown no willingness to work with anyone but the hard right "tea party" faction of the Republicans, spurning even the more mainstream Republicans trying to work out budgets with President Obama. These actions have put tens of thousands of Central and Upstate New Yorkers at risk.
I still believe, as I said during the campaign, that we can accomplish far more by working together. Working on just one side or the other of the political pendulum will never succeed in creating decent jobs in America, spurring our economy, bringing our budget back to balance, or solving our energy crisis. Whether I attempt to return to public office or not, I promise you that I will continue to fight to achieve consensus solutions to the challenges faced by Central and Upstate New York, America, and our world. Please keep in touch and let me know your thoughts. I have a new e-mail address - it's daniel.maffei68@gmail.com. Thank you, and I look forward to hearing from you.
Warm wishes,
Dan Maffei
