Farengatto Decides Against Run For Congress

Deschire lieutenant governor would have to move to establish residency

NORTH BERIVIAN, DESCHIRE--Lieutenant Governor Angie Farengatto (TA) has decided against running for Congress in Deschire's 7th District, she announced Saturday.

Farengatto, who made history in 2008 when she became the first candidate of the fledgling family-values Traditionalist Party elected to state-wide office in the nation, has been courted in recent weeks by the Conservative Party to run for the vacant seat, which opened up after Congressman Robert Sherman (CNS) resigned last month after being diagnosed with liver cancer.

In a press conference Saturday at the state capitol, Farengatto said she would have to move from her current home in rural Dovlin County, which lies in the 3rd District, across the boundary to the adjacent 7th District, and "that's just not something I'm willing to do at this time," she said.

"My husband and I have three children, and we have a lovely home that we love, and to ask my family to pack up their things and move to a new home in a new district, and force my kids to move to a new school, that would just not be fair," Farengatto said.

But it wasn't just the moving that discouraged her from running.

"I'm happy here [at the capitol]. I love being lieutenant governor. Every day, I get to serve the people of this great state and I get to play an important role in the decision-making process here in North Berivian. I'm not ready for a move to Mavocke," she said, of becoming a member of Congress.

Though she is a member of a different political party, Farengatto's announcement is a blow to local Conservatives, who were hoping to join forces with the Traditionalist Party and support her candidacy in what has become, in recent years, a battle-ground district. The CNS has few strong candidates, and many party leaders fear North Berivian Mayor Kallie O'Connor may run for the Nationalists, making her a formidable opponent in the special election.

O'Connor, who is in her second term as mayor, has not announced if she will seek the empty seat.