US House Rep Susan Davis' office issued the following:
San Diego, September 4, 2019
In a personal letter to her constituents, Congresswoman Susan A. Davis today announced that this is her final term in Congress.
“I have struggled to make this very difficult decision. I
will not seek another term in Congress. My decision today represents a
desire to live and work ‘at home’ in San Diego,“ she wrote.
Davis, the Dean of the San Diego Congressional Delegation
and only San Diego’s second woman to serve in Congress, was first
elected to Congress in 2000.
Davis is the second highest-ranking Democrat on both the
House Education and Labor Committee and the House Armed Services
Committee having chosen those committees to best represent San Diego’s
strong education and military institutions. She serves as the chair of
Higher Education and Workforce Investment Subcommittee where she focuses
on expanding apprenticeships and making college affordable.
Davis has earned a reputation as a thoughtful,
deliberative, accessible and hardworking Member of Congress focused on
the needs of her constituents. Her office won the highly competitive
“Best in Congress” awards from the Congressional Management Foundation
for both Constituent Service and Workplace Environment.
During her soon to be 20-year tenure in Congress, Davis
influenced many significant pieces of legislation. She opposed the Iraq
War, supported and contributed to the seminal Affordable Care Act,
initiated the first hearing on “Don’t Ask Don’t Tell” as chair of the
House Armed Services Military Personnel Subcommittee and added many
provisions to the national defense bill every year. She was integral in
bringing large projects to San Diego including the San Diego State
University Transit Center and the James M. Carter and Judith N. Keep
United States Courthouse.
Before serving in Congress, Davis served in the California
State Assembly and was President of the San Diego Unified Board of
Education. A former social worker, she first became involved in
politics through the League of Women Voters and by being active in her
sons’ schools.
Davis made it clear she would finish out her tenth term in
Congress with vigor and said she hopes her successor in office “will put
public interest above self-interest.”