| Helen Chenoweth-Hage | |
|---|---|
| Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Idaho's 1st district |
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| In office January 4, 1995–January 3, 2001 |
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| Preceded by | Larry LaRocco |
| Succeeded by | C. L. "Butch" Otter |
| Personal details | |
| Born | January 27, 1938 Topeka, Kansas |
| Died | October 2, 2006 (aged 68) near Tonopah, Nevada |
| Political party | Republican |
| Spouse(s) | Nick Chenoweth (1958–1975) Wayne Hage (1999–2006) |
| Profession | Consultant |
Helen P. Chenoweth-Hage, born Helen Margaret Palmer (January 27, 1938 – October 2, 2006) was a Republican politician from the U.S. state of Idaho, the first Republican woman to represent that state in the United States Congress.
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Chenoweth-Hage grew up on her father's dairy farm in Grants Pass, Oregon. A musician, horse enthusiast and athlete, she 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 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.
In 1994, Chenoweth won the Republican nomination for Idaho's 1st Congressional District over former Lieutenant Governor David H. Leroy and two other challengers. 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. During the campaign, Chenoweth attacked LaRocco for supporting the Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1993; he was the only Idahoan in either chamber to back the bill. 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, Chenoweth became the second woman to represent Idaho in the United States Congress and one of few members of Congress to be elected by her peers to a committee chair (House Subcommittee on Forest and Forest Health) after only one term.
As one of the "true believers" in the Republican freshman class of 1995, Chenoweth was considered one of the most conservative members of the House, staunchly opposing regulation, and supporting school prayer. One measure placed her as the most conservative woman to serve in Congress between 1937 and 2004.[1] Much was made of her "insistence" on the title "Congressman Chenoweth," (as opposed to the more common "Congresswoman").[2] In fact she simply found the term "Congresswoman" unwieldy herself but was reported not to have objected 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," and in February 1995 she voiced the suspicion that armed federal agents were landing black helicopters on Idaho ranchers' property to enforce the Endangered Species Act, in line with a longstanding conspiracy theory. "I have never seen them," Chenoweth said in an interview in The New York Times. "But enough people in my district have become concerned that I can't just ignore it. We do have some proof."[3] 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, "It's the white, Anglo-Saxon male that's endangered today."[4]
Chenoweth remained a controversial and polarizing 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.
She 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 she had carried on a six-year illicit romance with married rancher Vernon Ravenscroft, when she worked for his natural-resources consulting firm during the 1980s. Chenoweth claimed that her case was different from the Clinton/Lewinsky case since she was a private citizen at the time, and claimed her case was different because "I've asked for God's forgiveness, and I've received it." [5][6]
Chenoweth faced a reasonably well-funded challenge in 1996 from Democratic activist Dan Williams, but was reelected in a close contest. Chenoweth defeated Williams again in 1998 by a wider margin. She later said that she regretted limiting herself to three terms[7] and called the whole concept of term limits bad policy. She nonetheless honored her pledge and did not run for reelection to a fourth term in 2000. She was succeeded by Lieutenant Governor Butch Otter, a fellow Republican. Since her retirement, no women have represented Idaho in Congress.
During her final term in 1999, Chenoweth married rancher and author Wayne Hage in Boise and changed her name to Helen Chenoweth-Hage. After leaving Congress, she moved to Hage's Nevada ranch, where the two continued to write and speak on private property rights issues. Wayne Hage died at the age of 68 on June 5, 2006.[8]
After leaving Congress, Chenoweth-Hage continued to make headlines. In 2003 at the Boise Airport she was selected by the Transportation Security Administration 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 United States Department of 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 (480 km) 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."[9]
On October 2, 2006, Chenoweth-Hage was killed after being thrown from the backseat of 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 (who was sitting on her lap) suffered only minor injuries.[10]
Chenoweth-Hage was memorialized at a service held in Meridian, Idaho, on October 9, 2006.
| United States House of Representatives | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Larry LaRocco (D) |
United States House of Representatives, Idaho First Congressional District
Helen Chenoweth-Hage (R) |
Succeeded by C. L. "Butch" Otter (R) |
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