Former Rep. Sherwood Boehlert, a leading Republican moderate who represented Central New York in Congress for 24 years, died Monday in New Hartford.
Boehlert, 84, would have turned 85 next week. He died at the Siegenthaler Center, a hospice care facility, said Tim Clancy, a former chief of staff.
Boehlert, first elected in 1982, emerged as a leader of the moderate wing of House Republicans in the 1990s.
He served as chairman of the House Science Committee from 2001 to 2006, where he became one of the most prominent Republican voices on environmental matters.
Oneida County Executive Anthony Picente ordered flags lowered to half-staff Tuesday at all county buildings to honor Boehlert.
“Sherry was the epitome of what an elected official should be: dedicated, hardworking, effective and always willing to reach a hand across the aisle,” Picente said in a statement.
“During his long and distinguished congressional career, he fought hard for the people of Oneida County, always giving us a strong voice with an emphasis on issues of science, technology and the environment,” Picente said.
Clancy said his former boss was a throwback to a different time in Washington, when Republicans and Democrats could bridge the partisan divide and pass policies for the good of the nation.
Boehlert never lost track of the reason why he was in Congress, he said.
“Sherry was a guy who put his constituents first” Clancy said. “It sounds like common sense. But that’s not always how it works in Washington, where there’s a lot of pressure to go along with the crowd.”
Boehlert insisted on reading every letter his office received from a constituent, and sending back a typewritten response instead of a computer-generated form letter.
“He didn’t care what your party or position was, he would respond,” Clancy said. “That’s not what it’s like today.”
Boehlert also made it a habit to return from Washington to his hometown of Utica every weekend over the course of his 24-year career, Clancy said.
His approach managed to bring results. The Capitol Hill publication Congressional Quarterly named Boehlert one of the 50 most effective lawmakers in Congress.
Boehlert fought against environmental rollbacks proposed by conservative Republicans, earning the nickname “The Green Hornet” from the National Journal in 1995.
He was among the first in his party to warn of the dangers of climate change, and led two congressional delegation trips to Antarctica to help his colleagues better understand the problem.
Boehlert also helped write a provision in the 1990 Clean Air Act aimed at reducing acid rain, a byproduct of coal-fired power plants in the Midwest that killed off fish in Adirondack lakes.
Along the way, Boehlert made friends on both sides of the aisle. One of them was U.S. Sen. Charles Schumer, D-N.Y., now the Senate majority leader.
“Sherry and I were colleagues in the House of Representatives for 15 years and our friendship transcended partisanship and even included sharing a locker at the House gym,” Schumer said Tuesday.
Schumer added, “The rewards of Sherry’s dedication to his district can be seen today: whether at the former Griffiss Air Force base following the revitalization he spearheaded or as the Adirondacks teem with fish and loons thanks in no small part his work on acid rain.”
Rep. John Katko, R-Camillus, agreed with Schumer.
“Sherry was the embodiment of what a public servant should be,” Katko said. “He was a man who led with integrity and put the interests of his constituents above all else.”
When Boehlert decided to retire at the end of his term in 2006, he lamented the loss of bipartisan cooperation. He told syracuse.com | The Post-Standard in an interview that he would receive dirty looks from some Republicans if he had lunch with a Democrat.
“I came to Capitol Hill 42 years ago, and I have never seen a higher level of partisanship and a lower level of tolerance for the other guy’s point of view,” Boehlert said in the interview. “It must change. I’m optimistic for the future.”
Funeral arrangements were not yet complete Tuesday.
Boehlert is survived by his wife, Marianne, of New Hartford; four children, Brooke Phillips, of Bedminster, N.J.; Mark Brooks of New York City; Tracy Van Hook of Rehoboth Beach, Del., and Leslie Wetteland of Jensen, Fla.; and six grandchildren.
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