U.S. Rep. Maurice Hinchey, congressman for our area since 1993, was scheduled to announce his year-end retirement Thursday, January 19 at 1 p.m. at the same place he launched his first House bid 20 years ago — the Senate House in Uptown Kingston.

Shortly after the blog Politico on Wednesday cited “Democratic insiders” as saying Hinchey, who has been battling colon cancer and has undergone three operations for it in recent months, would step down, his office sent out its own statement that the congressman would not run for reelection in 2012.

“While it is incredibly hard to leave a job I truly love, I know in my heart of hearts that now is the right time for me to move on,” Hinchey’s statement read. “I want to thank the people of New York’s 22nd District and the people of the former 26th District who put their trust in me to be their congressman. I am forever grateful for their support over the years. They afforded me the opportunity of a lifetime. Every day I’ve spent in Congress was a day I spent fighting for those who I represent. The people from the Hudson Valley, the Catskills, the Southern Tier and the Finger Lakes were always, and continue to be, at the front of my mind and the focus of everything I do as their congressman.”