Each Thursday, we put one of our local newsmakers On The Spot.

This week: Outgoing

Congressman Jim Walsh

This week's question: What would you like the people of your district to remember about your 20 years in Congress?

Walsh: After 20 years of public service in Washington there are a lot of memories: some sharp and vivid while others are cloudy, muddled or mundane. One that really sticks out was a ride I took with, then Chairman of the House Appropriations Committee, Robert Livingston of Louisiana down South Street in Auburn. We drove past the majestic City Hall and I pointed out the Seward House across the street to his amazement and great interest. But the home he had the most memorable comment on was that of John Taber, the last Republican to serve as Chairman of the House Appropriations Committee over 40 years before. He said “What a beautiful place. I'd trade houses with him right now.”

We then drove down to Emerson Park where Guy Cosentino, Ralph Standbrook and a few others and I made a pitch for federal help to rebuild the seawall and pump house. We received his commitment and the rest, as they say, is history.

As I look back, those years were the best years. The 10 years representing Auburn and Cayuga County were very special for me. Like everywhere I went in politics, my father had been there before me and I could feel the love and respect the people of Cayuga County have for him. By the way, he is 96, going strong and back in Florida for the winter for the 30th time. The Walsh family is connected to Auburn through my uncle Walter Walsh who was a corrections officer at the prison, my Aunt Helen who worked in the office of the school where her three sons studied, Mt. Carmel High School, and their family home was on Seymour Street.

I can look back at the great friends I have made like Sue Dwyer, the Cosentino family, Dan Fessenden, and the Cayuga County Republican Women's Organization with great fondness. I can also look back at the contributions we made to the wonderful quality of life in Auburn and Cayuga County: the Watershed Protection Plan for Owasco Lake, the NASA Center at Cayuga Community College, the Merry-Go-Round Playhouse improvements, sewer and infrastructure improvements, the little Sodus seawall, and the aforementioned Owasco seawall, which bears a plate with my name on it. DeDe and I love to drive to Auburn and take a leisurely stroll along the seawall and enjoy the lake vistas.

When it is all over, I will be who I was, no longer Congressman, just Jim. But when you follow a great man in life it is the last name that matters. I wanted to complete my service by enhancing the Walsh name, not harming it in any way. I hope and believe I have done that.