WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. – Democratic candidate Tim Mahoney seized the opportunity created by scandal and criticized GOP leaders Saturday for not fully investigating Rep. Mark Foley when his raunchy communications with a teenage boy came to light about a year ago.
Foley resigned Friday after revelations that he exchanged explicit electronic messages with the 16-year-old boy, a former congressional page, sending the Florida GOP scrambling for a replacement candidate less than six weeks before the election.
Mahoney, who until two days ago was the underdog in the race for Foley’s seat, said Republican leaders should have fully investigated at the time. Pages are high school students who attend classes under congressional supervision and work as messengers.
“It looks to me that it was more important to hold onto a seat and to hold onto power than to take care of our children,” Mahoney said. “I think that’s wrong. I think that’s what’s wrong with Washington.”
The House Page Board investigated the allegations late last year, but Foley was not honest when he denied improper conduct with the teenager, the committee’s leader, Rep. John Shimkus of Illinois, has said.
Rep. Thomas Reynolds of New York, head of the House Republican election effort, said Saturday that he told Speaker Dennis Hastert months ago about the e-mail concerns. Hastert’s office said aides referred the matter to proper authorities last fall but were told the messages were only “over-friendly.”
House leaders, including Hastert, said their duty is to ensure that pages are safe. They said they are creating a toll-free hot line for pages and their families to call to confidentially report any incidents and will consider adopting new rules on communications between lawmakers and pages.
Mahoney campaigned Saturday with Sen. John Kerry. The Massachusetts senator was in the state to raise money for Democratic congressional candidates and party gubernatorial nominee Jim Davis. About Foley, he said, “It speaks for itself. Every parent in America is disgusted and disturbed by it.”
Foley, R-Fla., who is single, apologized Friday for letting down his family and constituents. Hours after his resignation, Foley’s former colleagues engineered a vote to let the House ethics committee decide whether an investigation is needed.
In Florida, Democrats found themselves suddenly competitive in a district where Foley, 52, had been considered a shoo-in.
His resignation further complicates the political landscape for Republicans, who are fighting to retain control of Congress. Democrats need to win a net of 15 Republican seats to regain the power they lost in 1994.
Florida Republican officials on Saturday were still discussing the procedure to replace Foley as a candidate in the South Florida district, which President Bush won with 55 percent of the vote in 2004 and is now in play for November.
Though Florida ballots have already been printed with Foley’s name and cannot be changed, any votes for Foley will count toward the party’s choice.
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