U.S. Sen. Pete Domenici is being forced to retire because he is suffering from a degenerative brain disease that can lead to dementia, the Associated Press is reporting.
The condition, frontotemporal lobar degeneration, can cause a number of syndromes including frontotemporal dementia, the disease that forced former Doña Ana County Sheriff Juan Hernandez to resign in 2004. Domenici’s condition could eventually affect parts of the brain important for organization, decision-making and mood and behavior control.
“The progress of this disease is apparently erratic and unpredictable. It may well be that, seven years from now, it will be stable,” the 75-year-old Domenici intends to say, according to a draft of remarks prepared for delivery and obtained by the Associated Press. “On the other hand, it may also be that the disease will have incapacitated me. I am not willing to take a chance that the people who have so honored me with their trust for 40 years might not be served as well as they deserve in the United States Senate.”
Domenici’s prepared remarks state that he is confident he will be able to serve the rest of his current term, which will end when a new senator takes office in January 2009. If Domenici was unable to continue serving until then, he would be replaced by a gubernatorial appointment.
The disease had not progressed as recently as April, Domenici’s prepared remarks state, but a checkup in late September revealed a slight progression, and Domenici decided against seeking another term.
Domenici will formally announce his retirement at St. Mary’s Catholic School in
“No cure for my disease exists, yet,” his prepared remarks state. “But, if we work hard enough, we may be able to find a way to cure people with diseases of the brain in the future. That would be truly a wonderful thing.”