Retiring U.S. Rep. Sherwood Boehlert leaving New YOrk to take a think-tank job in Washington

(AP) U.S. Rep. Sherwood Boehlert, who is retiring after 24 years in Congress, doesn't plan to settle down in his central New York district. He's selling his home near Utica and taking a part-time job at a think tank in Washington, D.C.

The longest-serving New York Republican in Congress, whose moderate stance on social issues and the environment placed him increasingly at odds with his party's leadership, is looking to buy a new home in Rehoboth Beach, Del. Two of his daughters already live there and a third resides nearby in New Jersey.

Boehlert recently took a public-policy job at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars.

He will join in discussions with academics, business executives and other think tank staff on a wide variety of topics including "education, the environment, energy and other science-related issues," Boehlert spokesman Sam Marchio said Friday.

Boehlert, 70, and his wife, Marianne, expect to maintain close ties to Utica, Marchio said.

"It's his hometown, he grew up there, raised his family there and has been commuting back and forth from Washington to Utica for the last 24 years as a congressman and was a staffer for 20 years before that," Marchio said. "I can't imagine he will sever ties with the area that he knows and loves."

Democrat Michael Arcuri was elected to succeed Boehlert. His win marked the first time in 60 years that a Democrat has represented the core of that Mohawk Valley district.