Posted on 04/24/2007 9:22:18 AM PDT by presidio9
The brother of a pilot whose hijacked airplane was flown into the World Trade Center in 2001 announced Tuesday he is running for Congress.
Air Force Lt. Col. James Ogonowski is the first Republican to announce his intention to run for the seat of Democrat Rep. Martin Meehan, who is leaving Congress to become chancellor of the University of Massachusetts at Lowell.
Ogonowski's brother, John, was one of 92 people killed aboard American Airlines Flight 11 from Boston to Los Angeles on Sept. 11, 2001.
He said his brother's death played a "significant part" in his decision to run for Congress.
"We lost our innocence that day," he said. "It's something we should never allow to happen again."
Ogonowski, 49, plans to retire from the Air Force next month after a 28-year career. He announced his candidacy at a memorial dedicated to his brother near the house where they grew up in Dracut, in northeast Massachusetts.
Ogonowski describes himself as a fiscal conservative and social moderate.
Two other Republicans are considering a run for Meehan's seat: former NFL defensive lineman Fred Smerlas and Lawrence Mayor Michael Sullivan.
Six Democrats have announced their candidacy, including Niki Tsongas, wife of the late U.S. Sen. Paul Tsongas; Lowell City Councilor Eileen M. Donoghue; and state Rep. Barry Finegold.
That's Jim on the right at John's funeral. It should be noted that this is sort of an odd picture of him. Normally he doesn't look anything like another former Air Force pilot turned Republican Politician that we know and love.
I wish all well to him and a smashing victory against the Democrat.
We finally took a plan out of the Dems play book. They ran retired military against incumbants in a number of races and won. Sure hope this one gets rid of Marty.
Surprising that AP gave him any coverage at all. I wish him luck.
Marty's on his was out the door either way. The seat is open.
I would rather have a fiscal moderate and a social conservative.
In MASSachusetts? Are you kidding? I'd take any Republican seat in what is now an all DemocRAT delegation if it unseats Pelosi as Speaker.
Ooh. A Social Moderate. BURN HIM!
A little help? McCain was a Naval Aviator.
Man, am I the only person who looks at that picture and sees an uncanny resemblance to George Bush with slumped shoulders?
LAWSAMIGHTY girl, I live in the 5th Mass. Cong. Distr. I came within a hairsbreath of being gerrymandered into Joe Kennedy’s district.
Any imaginable Republican would be a huge improvement over the run-of-the-mill social and economic numbnuts in the Massachusetts Democratic stable.
Shhhhhh! Don't talk like that! If he's not a social conservative, he's unacceptable.
Anyway, I live the the 5th Mass. Cong. District and any imaginable Republican would be a huge improvement over the menagerie of misfits, wannabes and whiners in the Massachusetts Democratic party bullpen.
Once your social views migrate leftward, it's almost impossible to reconcile your fiscal views if they run counter to them. In other words, you can be a fiscal liberal and a social Conservative, but not the other way around. This sounds like he's a pro-abort.
Possibly, but I'm hoping not. Most Poles that I know take their Catholicism pretty seriously.
I sympathize for the Lieutenant Colonel’s loss, but that doesn’t mean he should be running for Congress in MA. Mike Sullivan sounds like the only GOP candidate who’s feasible.
Moderate= unprincipled liberal.
His family was a prominent Dracut family before 9/11. They have been working to privately save the many acres of farm land in the city despite creeping development because of its proximity to Lowell.
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