Longtime Democrat from New York, Brian Higgins, to leave Congress early next year

By CAROLYN THOMPSON
Associated Press

BUFFALO, N.Y. (AP) — New York Congressman Brian Higgins says he will leave office before the end of his current term early next year, after 19 years. The Buffalo, New York, Democrat says he’s grown frustrated with dysfunction in the U.S. House of Representatives. At a news conference Sunday, he said he will leave during the first week of February but did not say what he will do next. Higgins was first elected to Congress in 2004 and is credited with leading the efforts to revitalize Buffalo’s waterfront. His departure could lead to a special election next spring in New York’s 26th Congressional District. The district includes parts of Erie and Niagara counties, including the cities of Buffalo and Niagara Falls.