Helen Chenoweth-Hage

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Helen Chenoweth-Hage

Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Idaho's 1st district
In office January 4, 1995-January 3, 2001
Preceded by	Larry LaRocco
Succeeded by	C. L. "Butch" Otter

Born	January 27, 1938 Topeka, Kansas
Died	October 2, 2006 (aged 68) Tonopah, Nevada
Political party	Republican
Spouse	Wayne Hage
Profession	Consultant

Helen Chenoweth-Hage (January 27, 1938 – October 2, 2006) was a conservative Republican politician from the U.S. state of Idaho.

1 Early life and career
2 Election and Congressional career
3 Later life and death
4 Electoral history
5 References
6 External links

[edit] Early life and career

She was born as Helen Palmer was born on January 27, 1938 in Topeka, Kansas, but spent most of her growing up years on her father’s dairy farm in Grants Pass, Oregon. A musician, horse enthusiast and athlete, Helen attended Whitworth College in Spokane, Washington where she met her first husband Nick Chenoweth. The two were married in 1958.

Helen and Nick Chenoweth had two children, Michael Chenoweth and Margaret (Meg) Chenoweth, both born in Orofino, Idaho where Helen developed and managed the Northside Medical Clinic. There she developed a physician recruitment practice where she recruited doctors for under-served rural communities.

Chenoweth was divorced in 1975 and moved to Boise to become the Executive Director of the Idaho Republican Party. Later she went on to serve as (then) Congressman Steve Symms' District Director in 1977 through his election in 1978 after which she started her own business, Consulting Associates, and became a noteworthy lobbyist in the Idaho capital city.

[edit] Election and Congressional career

In 1994, Chenoweth-Hage won the Republican nomination for Idaho's 1st Congressional District. She pledged to serve no more than three terms in the United States House of Representatives if elected. She defeated two-term Democratic incumbent Larry LaRocco by almost 11 points in the Republican wave that saw that party take control of the House for the first time in 40 years. While Chenoweth's victory was one of many instances of historically Republican districts reverting to form after being held by Democrats, it was still surprising considering that LaRocco had won re-election in 1992 by almost 21 points.

With her victory in 1994, Helen Chenoweth became the second woman to represent Idaho in the United States Congress and one of few Congressmen to be elected by her peers to a Chairmanship (House Sub-Committee on Forest and Forest Health) after only one term.

As one of the "true believers" in the Republican freshman class of 1995, Chenoweth-Hage was one of the most conservative members of the House, staunchly defending private property rights, veterans' rights and school prayer. Much was made of her "insistance" on the title "Congressman Chenoweth-Hage," (as opposed to the more common "Congresswoman"). In fact simply found the term "Congresswoman" unweildy herself but never minded when others used it in reference to her.

During her tenure, she was referred to by her most outspoken critics as a "poster-child for the militias." The Los Angeles Times editorialized that during the campaign she gained national attention by "holding 'endangered salmon bakes' during fundraisers, serving canned salmon to ridicule the listing of Idaho Salmon as an endangered species." She was quoted as saying in response "the only endangered species is the White Christian landowning male". [1]

Chenoweth-Hage remained a controversial and beloved figure in Idaho politics throughout her career. While in Congress she articulated and defended a freedom philosophy that was simultaneously cherished and derided by supporters and opponents. Chenoweth-Hage was a critic of President Bill Clinton during the Lewinsky scandal and was one of the first to call for his resignation over the affair, although she admitted that as a single woman she had had an affair with a married man in the 1980s. She claimed that her case was different from the Clinton/Lewinsky case since she was a private citizen at the time and was honest with the public when confronted with the charge in 1998, although she had earlier denied it in a 1995 interview.[2]

At the end of her Congressional career, Chenoweth-Hage continued to make headlines. In 2003 at the Boise International Airport she was selected by Homeland Security for a hand search before they would permit her to board a plane for her Nevada home. Chenoweth-Hage requested to see a copy of the regulation granting Homeland Security the authority to search her without cause. When the request was denied, she refused to submit to the search and elected to make the 300-mile trip by rental car. "Our borders are wide open and yet they’re shaking down a 66-year old white grandmother they greeted by name," she said of the incident. "It’s time the American people say no to this kind of invasion. It’s a question of personal privacy. There shouldn’t be that kind of search without reasonable cause."

Chenoweth-Hage faced reasonably well-funded challenges in 1996 and 1998. Chenoweth-Hage later said that she regretted limiting herself to three terms and called the whole concept of term limits bad policy. She nonetheless honored her pledge and did not run for reelection in 2000. She was succeeded by Idaho lieutenant governor Butch Otter, a fellow Republican.

[edit] Later life and death

Chenoweth married rancher and author Wayne Hage in Boise in 1999 and moved to his Nevada ranch, where the two continued to write and speak on private property rights issues. Hage died at the age of 69 on June 5, 2006.

On October 2, 2006, Chenoweth-Hage was killed after being thrown from a vehicle that overturned on an isolated central Nevada highway near Tonopah. She was not wearing a seatbelt and was thrown from the car. Her daughter-in-law (who was driving) and grandson suffered only minor injuries [3].

Chenoweth-Hage was memorialized at a service held in Meridian, Idaho on October 9, 2006.

[edit] Electoral history

1998 Race for U.S. House of Representatives - 1st District
- Helen Chenoweth (R) (inc.), 55%
- Dan Williams (D), 45%
1996 Race for U.S. House of Representatives - 1st District
- Helen Chenoweth (R) (inc.), 50%
- Dan Williams (D), 48%
1994 Race for U.S. House of Representatives - 1st District
- Helen Chenoweth (R), 55%
- Larry LaRocco (D) (inc.), 45%

[edit] References

^ PDF file of Chenoweth's bill on the GPO's site. Retrieved on January 3, 2006.

[edit] External links

Preceded by Larry LaRocco (D)	United States House of Representatives, Idaho First Congressional District Helen Chenoweth-Hage (R) January 4, 1995–January 3, 2001	Succeeded by C. L. "Butch" Otter (R)