R
Raymond
Guest
For Craig and Others, a Caucus on the Potomac
"A Red Flag"
New York Times
By MARILYN W. THOMPSON
Published: September 28, 2007
WASHINGTON, Sept. 22 - When he is not at the Capitol, Senator Larry E.
Craig spends much of his time aboard the Suz II, the 42-foot yacht
that serves as his Washington home. Further down D Dock at the Capital
Yacht Club, his friend Senator Ted Stevens occasionally escapes the
pressures of a federal investigation aboard his pleasure boat.
[Senator Larry E. Craig lives on a yacht at the Capital Yacht Club.]
All in the Neighborhood Former Representative Randy Cunningham,
Republican of California, used to reside a few slips over on the Duke
Stir before federal investigators built a bribery case against him.
And at the Gangplank Marina next door, the disgraced congressmen Bob
Ney, a Republican, and James A. Traficant Jr., a Democrat, both from
Ohio, traded coveted slips for federal prison cells in bribery cases.
The travails of Mr. Craig, Republican of Idaho, who is seeking to
withdraw his guilty plea to charges related to what the authorities
say was a sex-solicitation incident at a Minneapolis airport restroom,
are only the latest to rock this eclectic Washington neighborhood.
Photographers gathered at D Dock on Wednesday to watch him leave for
the Senate, carrying a boater's bag.
One resident describes the strip of Potomac River waterfront as a
"floating trailer park" where everyone knows everyone else's business.
Protected by locked gates and security, members of Congress rub elbows
with lawyers and lobbyists, judges and bureaucrats, established
government contractors and aspiring ones, and others lucky enough to
own expensive boats and secure a coveted slip.
"There's no other place like it," said Dutch von Ehrenfried, a former
yacht club commodore who says a cabinet member, astronauts, and the
musician Yanni have attended parties on his boat. "Why would all these
big shots with their big boats be anywhere else?"
The Congressional scandals linked to slipholders do not always have to
do with boats. But in recent years, some yacht club members and staff
members have gotten caught up in the investigations of lawmakers.
Three from the club, for example, were called before the federal grand
jury investigating Mr. Cunningham's ties to a military contractor who
lent him the Duke Stir.
Now, neighbors tend not to discuss what they see and hear. "What
people do on their boats, it's like Vegas," said Representative Gary
L. Ackerman, Democrat of New York, who lives at the yacht club on his
houseboat, the Unsinkable II, next to the impressive Shirley Lee, a
restored yacht of Representative J. Randy Forbes, Republican of
Virginia.
Members typically make public few details about their nautical lives,
and Congressional rules require them to disclose boats as assets only
if they produce income or are bought or sold.
Mr. Craig, who is known as exceptionally frugal, unwittingly called
attention to the club when he gave the arresting officer in
Minneapolis his club mail drop as a home address, 1000 Water Street
SW. Mr. Craig, an outdoorsman who likes to fish and hunt, is a well-
known figure at the marinas, where he has lived off and on during his
Congressional career.
Ed Johnson, a resident of the Gangplank Marina who has long known Mr.
Craig, describes the waterfront as a fancy trailer park. Neighbors
float only a few arms-lengths away from one another. Most shower in
bathhouses, and, after hours, gossip over drinks. Most parties erupt
spontaneously. Others, like the bashes held aboard Malcolm Forbes's
visiting 133-foot yacht, feature White House, cabinet and
Congressional notables. Live-aboards, as they call themselves, gawk
from lawn chairs.
This tight world, though, potentially poses some ethical challenges.
Mary Boyle, the communications director of the watchdog group Common
Cause, said she saw a "red flag" when a Washington Post columnist
recently reprinted a 2006 yacht club application from Mr. Stevens,
Republican of Alaska, who owns the CW's Way. (The boat is named for
Charles Willis Snedden, a champion of Alaska statehood.)
Mr. Craig, who sits with Mr. Stevens on the Appropriations Committee,
was listed as a reference. So was Elizabeth M. Conway, a yacht owner
and former Craig staff member turned lobbyist. [Ms. Conway said
Thursday in an e-mail message that at the time she vouched for Mr.
Stevens, her firm no longer represented a client whose financing goes
through the committee.]
While perfectly legal, the gesture by Ms. Conway for Mr. Stevens shows
the "ultimate coziness" of a members-only marina, Ms. Boyle said. Mr.
Stevens's office declined to comment about Ms. Conway's reference. In
recent months, the F.B.I. has investigated his ties to an Alaska
supporter who has pleaded guilty to bribing state lawmakers. None of
this would be of any concern but for history. In the 1980s, a group of
members living on boats came to be known as the Sea Caucus. Rent was
cheap, and the location so convenient that, as Mr. Ackerman explained,
one could get buzzed for a vote in the Capitol while aboard and be on
the floor in a flash.
The group included Mr. Traficant, Mr. Cunningham, Mr. Craig, Mr.
Ackerman and Representatives Sonny Callahan of Alabama, and Gene
Taylor of Mississippi. Mr. Callahan, a Republican, retired in 2002 and
opened a lobbying firm. Mr. Taylor, a Democrat, no longer lives on a
boat, his office says.
Mr. Callahan owned the custom-built Kelly C with an open salon for
entertaining. Berthed at the Gangplank, it became an after-hours
gathering spot for people who work on the Hill.
"A Red Flag"
New York Times
By MARILYN W. THOMPSON
Published: September 28, 2007
WASHINGTON, Sept. 22 - When he is not at the Capitol, Senator Larry E.
Craig spends much of his time aboard the Suz II, the 42-foot yacht
that serves as his Washington home. Further down D Dock at the Capital
Yacht Club, his friend Senator Ted Stevens occasionally escapes the
pressures of a federal investigation aboard his pleasure boat.
[Senator Larry E. Craig lives on a yacht at the Capital Yacht Club.]
All in the Neighborhood Former Representative Randy Cunningham,
Republican of California, used to reside a few slips over on the Duke
Stir before federal investigators built a bribery case against him.
And at the Gangplank Marina next door, the disgraced congressmen Bob
Ney, a Republican, and James A. Traficant Jr., a Democrat, both from
Ohio, traded coveted slips for federal prison cells in bribery cases.
The travails of Mr. Craig, Republican of Idaho, who is seeking to
withdraw his guilty plea to charges related to what the authorities
say was a sex-solicitation incident at a Minneapolis airport restroom,
are only the latest to rock this eclectic Washington neighborhood.
Photographers gathered at D Dock on Wednesday to watch him leave for
the Senate, carrying a boater's bag.
One resident describes the strip of Potomac River waterfront as a
"floating trailer park" where everyone knows everyone else's business.
Protected by locked gates and security, members of Congress rub elbows
with lawyers and lobbyists, judges and bureaucrats, established
government contractors and aspiring ones, and others lucky enough to
own expensive boats and secure a coveted slip.
"There's no other place like it," said Dutch von Ehrenfried, a former
yacht club commodore who says a cabinet member, astronauts, and the
musician Yanni have attended parties on his boat. "Why would all these
big shots with their big boats be anywhere else?"
The Congressional scandals linked to slipholders do not always have to
do with boats. But in recent years, some yacht club members and staff
members have gotten caught up in the investigations of lawmakers.
Three from the club, for example, were called before the federal grand
jury investigating Mr. Cunningham's ties to a military contractor who
lent him the Duke Stir.
Now, neighbors tend not to discuss what they see and hear. "What
people do on their boats, it's like Vegas," said Representative Gary
L. Ackerman, Democrat of New York, who lives at the yacht club on his
houseboat, the Unsinkable II, next to the impressive Shirley Lee, a
restored yacht of Representative J. Randy Forbes, Republican of
Virginia.
Members typically make public few details about their nautical lives,
and Congressional rules require them to disclose boats as assets only
if they produce income or are bought or sold.
Mr. Craig, who is known as exceptionally frugal, unwittingly called
attention to the club when he gave the arresting officer in
Minneapolis his club mail drop as a home address, 1000 Water Street
SW. Mr. Craig, an outdoorsman who likes to fish and hunt, is a well-
known figure at the marinas, where he has lived off and on during his
Congressional career.
Ed Johnson, a resident of the Gangplank Marina who has long known Mr.
Craig, describes the waterfront as a fancy trailer park. Neighbors
float only a few arms-lengths away from one another. Most shower in
bathhouses, and, after hours, gossip over drinks. Most parties erupt
spontaneously. Others, like the bashes held aboard Malcolm Forbes's
visiting 133-foot yacht, feature White House, cabinet and
Congressional notables. Live-aboards, as they call themselves, gawk
from lawn chairs.
This tight world, though, potentially poses some ethical challenges.
Mary Boyle, the communications director of the watchdog group Common
Cause, said she saw a "red flag" when a Washington Post columnist
recently reprinted a 2006 yacht club application from Mr. Stevens,
Republican of Alaska, who owns the CW's Way. (The boat is named for
Charles Willis Snedden, a champion of Alaska statehood.)
Mr. Craig, who sits with Mr. Stevens on the Appropriations Committee,
was listed as a reference. So was Elizabeth M. Conway, a yacht owner
and former Craig staff member turned lobbyist. [Ms. Conway said
Thursday in an e-mail message that at the time she vouched for Mr.
Stevens, her firm no longer represented a client whose financing goes
through the committee.]
While perfectly legal, the gesture by Ms. Conway for Mr. Stevens shows
the "ultimate coziness" of a members-only marina, Ms. Boyle said. Mr.
Stevens's office declined to comment about Ms. Conway's reference. In
recent months, the F.B.I. has investigated his ties to an Alaska
supporter who has pleaded guilty to bribing state lawmakers. None of
this would be of any concern but for history. In the 1980s, a group of
members living on boats came to be known as the Sea Caucus. Rent was
cheap, and the location so convenient that, as Mr. Ackerman explained,
one could get buzzed for a vote in the Capitol while aboard and be on
the floor in a flash.
The group included Mr. Traficant, Mr. Cunningham, Mr. Craig, Mr.
Ackerman and Representatives Sonny Callahan of Alabama, and Gene
Taylor of Mississippi. Mr. Callahan, a Republican, retired in 2002 and
opened a lobbying firm. Mr. Taylor, a Democrat, no longer lives on a
boat, his office says.
Mr. Callahan owned the custom-built Kelly C with an open salon for
entertaining. Berthed at the Gangplank, it became an after-hours
gathering spot for people who work on the Hill.
