State Sen. Gib E. Armstrong, the most powerful politician in the county's legislative delegation, has rocked Republican politics by announcing that he will retire at the end of 2008 rather than seek a sixth term in the Senate.
"It's just time," he said.
Armstrong, whose 13th District includes the southern end of the county, the city, Manheim Township and part of York County, notified his staff and key supporters Saturday of his decision.
He said fallout from the 2005 pay raise wasn't a factor, citing polling data showing his negative rating among voters at just 15 percent.
Instead, he said, the time demands of leadership — Armstrong chairs the Senate Appropriations Committee — and the strain on his family were the key considerations.
"I'm not going, to prove a point, to put my family through four more years of long hours," he said.
The senator's announcement is likely to start a free-for-all in the GOP over the choice of a successor.
County Recorder of Deeds Steve McDonald has already declared his candidacy, while former county commissioner Paul Thibault is considering a run.
Former Lancaster mayor Charlie Smithgall also confirmed Saturday that with Armstrong out, he is thinking about running for the seat.
State Rep. Scott Boyd, R-43rd District, had been interested in the 13th District but since has said he is focusing on re-election to the House.
Republicans were stunned to learn of Armstrong's decision. Privately, some lamented the loss of legislative clout that the county will suffer.
Not to mention the intangibles, said Lancaster Mayor Rick Gray, a Democrat.
"There's a lot of guys with seniority," Gray said, "but wisdom and courage are some things that you don't get with time."
Armstrong, despite his rural roots, has been a champion of city projects.
"It's a great loss — a great loss," Gray said.
"... From a community perspective, he's leaving awful big shoes. They're going to be very hard to fill."
Starting a stampede?Armstrong said he wanted to retire eight years ago, but vowed to stay until the Penn Square convention center project, now under construction, had become reality.
"I think the convention center's a done deal, so I feel pretty safe," he said.
He shrugged off the possibility that his critics will say he's retiring because he fears fallout from the convention center and his vote for the pay raise in 2005, especially with opponents already lining up for the April primary.
"They can say that," he said. "They'll say anything."
Armstrong has said he didn't take the extra money and didn't receive any paychecks for six months, until the Legislature decided to repeal the raise.
Recent polling data, he said, shows his negative ratings at 15 percent, with 73 percent of voters in the district approving of his performance.
"I'm a fighter," he said, pointing to his service in the Marine Corps. "... I kind of enjoyed the fight."
Armstrong, who was elected Appropriations chairman last year, said the leadership position is "very time-consuming," especially during the budget season of January to June, when seven-day work weeks are common.
"Five more years," he said, "it's not fair to my wife."
Armstrong acknowledged that the county will lose seniority and clout when he retires. But he pointed out that the delegation has "gone through this before." In 1976, when he was first elected to the 100th District in the House, the county similarly experienced a changing of the guard.
He said he wanted to make his intentions known early enough to allow candidates to enter the race, so that he wasn't rigging the endorsement process for a hand-chosen successor.
"By doing it now, other people will have time to jockey for position, meet the committee people and get out there," he said.
He hasn't decided yet whether to back anyone for the party endorsement.
"Right now, we'll see what happens," he said. "There are some people I probably wouldn't support. We'll let the party and the voters decide."
The party is likely to have its hands full.
County GOP chairman Dave Dumeyer declined to comment until he has a chance to speak with Armstrong.
"We'll certainly take that into consideration as we conduct our endorsement process," Dumeyer said. "That's a little bit of a surprise to me."
McDonald announced his candidacy for the 13th in September, positioning himself with the reformers who sprang up after the pay raise.
"Certainly the writing of reform is on the wall, and I think Gib read it as well," he said, "and decided it was time to step aside."
Thibault, a one-time Armstrong ally, said Saturday that he will be making a formal announcement "in a few days."
Boyd had been exploring a run in the 13th but decided that he would not challenge Armstrong. He had said last month that he planned to run for re-election in the 43rd District.
Saturday, Boyd reiterated, "I've focused my intentions on the House."
Smithgall, Gray's predecessor, is a Republican whom Armstrong supported for county commissioner in the May primary.
"I would never run against Gib Armstrong," Smithgall said, but now that Armstrong is retiring, "I'll consider it."
Still, Smithgall said, "I'm trying to talk him into staying."
'A great time'According to Armstrong, that's not likely.
"I accomplished some things I wanted to accomplish," he said, and now it's time to "do things for our kids and make up for some times we couldn't do things."
Armstrong and his wife, Marti, who live on a farm in Refton, have three sons and a daughter and seven grandchildren.
"It's been a great time," he said. "A great group of people.
"I never thought I'd ever be in politics. Never had any goals. It just happened."
He said he's most proud of his work on economic development, transportation and revitalization.
"Just seeing what's going on downtown," he said, "[and] you think you had a small part in it — it makes you feel good."
He funneled millions of dollars into city projects over the years and kept his district office downtown.
"I did it in the city because people in the city probably needed more assistance than people in the suburbs," he said.
"He is the epitome of the term 'public servant,' " Gray said. "The hours he's worked and the contributions he's made to the community — it's impossible to measure, really.
"I knew he was a leader before I was elected [in 2005], but I had no idea of the kind of vision and the practical common sense he brought to government."
"He understands urban areas, not just the city" of Lancaster, said Art Morris, chairman of the Lancaster County Convention Center Authority board and a former mayor.
"Unlike many people who maybe don't live in the city, Gib Armstrong has a particularly keen sensitivity and knowledge of the needs of urban areas and the need to level the playing field.
"He has been a champion beyond what anybody could have expected or demanded — a person I respect a great deal."
Armstrong's support was critical in bringing Clipper Magazine Stadium to fruition, a project that he said has generated another $400 million in development in the city's Northwest.
"My taxpayers pay money, and they're entitled to their share of the pie," he said of state funding.
"Lancaster uses it better than anybody. I think the ballpark proves it," and the convention center will too, Armstrong said.
His support of the convention center — Lancaster Newspapers Inc., publisher of the Sunday News, is one of the Penn Square Partners building the Marriott hotel next to the center — has been one of his most controversial stands.
"People just hated me … I mean, hate," he said.
But Armstrong generally had good relations with Democrats in Harrisburg and in Lancaster, despite ideological differences.
"It served me well, and I think it served the district well," he said.
"We talk about the things we agree on and emphasize what's in the best interest of the community," Gray said.
"There's partisan politics and then there's governance. ... He's certainly got an A-plus in that, in my opinion."
While Gray and Morris said they wish Armstrong well in retirement, they're not about to let him relax yet.
"He has a lot of work to do in the next year," Morris said, "and we're going to keep him working."
Armstrong said he's already working on the 2008-09 budget. He wants to shepherd other district projects to fruition, including renovations for Central Market and the proposed new Lancaster Art Museum.
"We'll get some things done," he said. "We're not done yet."
Helen Colwell Adams is a Sunday News staff writer. E-mail her at hcolwell@lnpnews.com, or phone 291-4962. 
