Near tears, Bilbray bows out
Ousted lawmaker gets good news as well as bad

Twenty years ago, Brian Bilbray, then the mayor of Imperial Beach, commandeered a skiploader to stop raw sewage from flowing into the United States from the polluted Tijuana River.

 Bilbray, who spent three terms in Congress lobbying for federal help, found out Tuesday that President Clinton had finally signed an estuary bill that provides more than half a billion dollars to clean up the sewage.

 The news came on the day Bilbray was voted out of office.

 "It's been so great to realize the president of the United States, the Senate and the House finally heard our call for common decency and a clean environment," Bilbray said yesterday, as he addressed the media for one of the last times as representative of the 49th Congressional District. "I'm the luckiest man that has ever been elected here."

 Bilbray, the Republican incumbent, lost to Democrat Susan Davis by 4 percent of the vote. 

He invited the media to Pantoja Park downtown, where he reflected upon a political career that spans 25 years and contemplated his next move.

 The 49-year-old avid surfer and former lifeguard fought hard to hold back tears at times.

 "All of us are expendable," he said. "I carried the baton. It's been a tough, hard six years."

 When Bilbray started talking about his first try for political office -- he ran for City Council of Imperial Beach at 24 and won -- the corners of his mouth began to quiver.

 He summed up his years as mayor, county supervisor and congressman as living "the American dream from a political point of view."

 "Anybody in their right mind would have to say it's been one heck of a roll," Bilbray said. "It's been a great, great experience."

 He would not say what his political future holds, but hinted at working to protect the environment as a lobbyist. 

But his first order of business, he said, is spending time with his wife and children and surfing.

 "After 25 years of basically doing what the public wants to do, I get a chance to sit down with my family and decide what we want to do," he said. "Now is the time to pay back to my family what I haven't given to them for a lot of years."

 After the news conference ended, Bilbray spoke to Davis on a cellular phone, telling her she ran an impressive campaign.

 "We knew you were coming after me. There was nothing we could do about it," he told her. "You were just steamrolling right through us. The election was well fought, well run and well won. Congratulations."

 Davis, a termed-out state assemblywoman, had the support of more than 2,000 volunteers who walked door to door throughout the 49th District, which encompasses the coastal communities from Del Mar to Imperial Beach and neighborhoods along the Interstate 8 corridor.

 She said she looks forward to starting her new job after a swearing-in ceremony in January.

 "I will approach the job much more open and be a good listener," she said. "I enjoy working together with people and finding common ground."

 Bilbray said he hopes Davis will represent the 49th as he did.

 "When I ran for Congress, frankly, I expected a six-year term," he said. "I hoped someday somebody would come along that I could really support, and hopefully Susan Davis will become that kind of person."

 Davis' victory means there will be two Democrats among the San Diego congressional delegation.

 In the county's four other congressional races, Republicans Randy "Duke" Cunningham and Duncan Hunter and Democrat Bob Filner were easily re-elected. Republican Darrell Issa swept to victory in the North County seat being vacated by Ron Packard.