By Edward Mason , Staff writer

Eagle-Tribune
—

BOSTON - Citing his commitment to his city and his family, Lawrence Mayor Michael Sullivan yesterday said he will not run for Congress.

Sullivan said he would throw his support behind fellow Republican Jim Ogonowski, the Dracut Air National Guard officer who announced his candidacy this week for the 5th Congressional District seat being vacated by Martin Meehan.

Sullivan, who was elected to a second term in 2005, said he wanted to keep a promise to finish his term. He also said he wanted to be close to his two teenage daughters, rather than shuttling back and forth between Lawrence and Washington, D.C.

Another Republican, former NFL defensive lineman Fred Smerlas, also announced yesterday he would not enter the race. He, too, said he is supporting Ogonowski.

With Sullivan and Smerlas out, Ogonowski is so far the only Republican seeking his party’s nomination for the special election to succeed Meehan, who is resigning to become chancellor of the University of Massachusetts Lowell. The dates for the primary and general election have not been chosen.

Sullivan and Smerlas announced their decision not to run during an afternoon telephone press conference arranged by the Ogonowski campaign.

Sullivan said he was “excited” that Ogonowski was in the race. Smerlas said, “My decision not to run was made easier by Jim’s decision to run.”

Ogonowski, 49, is a 28-year veteran of the Air Force and a lieutenant colonel in the Air National Guard. He is the brother of John Ogonowski, the pilot of an American Airlines plane hijacked and flown into the World Trade Center on Sept. 11, 2001.

Sullivan said one reason he decided not to run was that he wanted to keep a campaign promise he made to finish his second term, although earlier this month he put together an exploratory committee with an eye toward leaving Lawrence for Washington, D.C.

Sullivan also said he wanted to continue to lead Lawrence through an “exciting time” in the city’s history, with a new high school opening in September and “economic development at an all-time high.”

And he didn’t want to commute back and forth from Washington, D.C., while one of his daughters prepared for college and another neared the end of high school.

Six Democrats have announced: Niki Tsongas, wife of late U.S. Sen. Paul Tsongas, Lowell City Councilor Eileen Donoghue, Rep. Barry Finegold of Andover, Rep. James Eldridge of Acton, Rep. James Miceli of Wilmington, and David O’Brien, a Concord Democratic party activist.

Earlier in the week, when there appeared to be more than one Republican poised to run, GOP leaders said a primary fight would be good for the candidates and the party, sharpening the candidates and their message and getting them ready to take on the winner of the Democratic primary.

Yesterday, Massachusetts Republican Party Chairman Peter Torkildsen said it didn’t matter.

“It’s a toss up which is better,” Torkildsen said.