Representative Pete Hoekstra came into office in the 103rd Congress in 1993. He's going out in the 111th Congress at the end of this year.
Hoekstra announced his retirement in December 2008 when he decided to run for Governor of Michigan.
He lost that bid to Rick Snyder and will soon be out of a political office after 17 years.
Today, the Grand Rapids Press ran an editorial praising Hoekstra's tenure, saying,
Mr. Hoekstra went about the people’s business with a dedication more lawmakers should display. He made decisions based primarily on what he thought was right for people, not for interest groups, his party or political heavyweights. When he thought his own party or his own party’s president were wrong, he did not hesitate to object and to do so loudly.
No word yet on what Hoekstra will do next.
