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| Maryland candidates debate whether Congress is entry-level job | Maryland candidates debate whether Congress is entry-level job |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| Esther Siegel who lives in Takoma Park, drove 60 miles into northern Frederick County Saturday to put her question to the Democratic candidates for the District 8 congressional nomination. | Esther Siegel who lives in Takoma Park, drove 60 miles into northern Frederick County Saturday to put her question to the Democratic candidates for the District 8 congressional nomination. |
| More specifically, it was to six of the nine candidates who have never held elective office: David Anderson, Dan Bolling, Will Jawando, Kathleen Matthews, Joel Rubin and David Trone. She wanted to know why they thought Congress was an entry-level position for those without legislative experience? | More specifically, it was to six of the nine candidates who have never held elective office: David Anderson, Dan Bolling, Will Jawando, Kathleen Matthews, Joel Rubin and David Trone. She wanted to know why they thought Congress was an entry-level position for those without legislative experience? |
| “Why is it that, if you’ve decided that you want to be an elected public servant at this stage of your lives, why are you not running for County Council . . . or even state senator?” | |
| They had plenty to say. | They had plenty to say. |
| Anderson, a nonprofit executive who pursues state and federal funding for college scholarships and internships, said first-time officeholders comprise about half of Congress. | Anderson, a nonprofit executive who pursues state and federal funding for college scholarships and internships, said first-time officeholders comprise about half of Congress. |
| “There’s nothing unusual about someone running for a House seat who had not served,” he told an afternoon forum at the Thurmont Regional Library. | “There’s nothing unusual about someone running for a House seat who had not served,” he told an afternoon forum at the Thurmont Regional Library. |
| [In wealthy Montgomery, some one-percenter Congressional candidates] | [In wealthy Montgomery, some one-percenter Congressional candidates] |
| A study of the current 114th Congress by the Congressional Research Service found that 223 of 435 members are either former state or territorial legislators. There is also a sprinkling of ex-mayors, lieutenant governors and at least one governor. On the Senate side just eight of 100 members are new to office. | A study of the current 114th Congress by the Congressional Research Service found that 223 of 435 members are either former state or territorial legislators. There is also a sprinkling of ex-mayors, lieutenant governors and at least one governor. On the Senate side just eight of 100 members are new to office. |
| “Quite frankly, many people think we have enough career politicians and millionaires on Capitol Hill,” Anderson said. | |
| Bolling, a former biotech executive, said structural fixes to Congress are needed. He favors removing parties from the legislative process. | |
| Jawando, a former aide (there are 81 of them in the House) to House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio) and then-Sen. Barack Obama, said Hill experience is more useful than prior legislative service because staff does a lot of the work. | Jawando, a former aide (there are 81 of them in the House) to House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio) and then-Sen. Barack Obama, said Hill experience is more useful than prior legislative service because staff does a lot of the work. |
| “My goal is impact, and I think I have a nice set of skills,” Jawando said. | “My goal is impact, and I think I have a nice set of skills,” Jawando said. |
| Matthews, a former news anchor and Marriott executive, there’s “no cookie cutter résumé” that qualifies a person for Congress. | |
| “We need broad experience. We need problem-solvers. We need people who bring really diverse background.” She cited three women she admires who had no elective experience before running for the House or Senate: Sens. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) and Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.) and former senator and now presidential candidate Hillary Clinton. (Clinton was an activist first last who participated in her husband’s two presidential campaigns.) | |
| [Md 8th District candidates debate gerrymandering, money in politics] | [Md 8th District candidates debate gerrymandering, money in politics] |
| Joel Rubin, former deputy assistant secretary of state for House affairs, said his fights with Republicans as the State Department’s liaison give him the right experience. Moreover, he said, he’s married to a Republican congressional aide, Nilmini Gunaratne Rubin, a senior adviser to the House Foreign Affairs Committee. | Joel Rubin, former deputy assistant secretary of state for House affairs, said his fights with Republicans as the State Department’s liaison give him the right experience. Moreover, he said, he’s married to a Republican congressional aide, Nilmini Gunaratne Rubin, a senior adviser to the House Foreign Affairs Committee. |
| “Every day I engage in diverse thinking and dialogue,” Rubin said. “Trust me. When I tell you there is Republican oversight, I know what I mean.” | “Every day I engage in diverse thinking and dialogue,” Rubin said. “Trust me. When I tell you there is Republican oversight, I know what I mean.” |
| Trone, the self-funding wine retailer, strongly criticized professional politicians. | Trone, the self-funding wine retailer, strongly criticized professional politicians. |
| “We can’t let that half percent that have chosen politics as their entire life rule America,” he said. “If all you’ve ever done is politics and all you care about is the next election and you’re beholden to the special interests who are pulling America apart, that’s not the America I want my kids to be growing up in.” | “We can’t let that half percent that have chosen politics as their entire life rule America,” he said. “If all you’ve ever done is politics and all you care about is the next election and you’re beholden to the special interests who are pulling America apart, that’s not the America I want my kids to be growing up in.” |
| Del. Kumar P. Barve, who has spent a quarter century in the House of Delegates, had heard enough. Speaking for the other two office-holding candidates, Del. Ana Sol-Gutierrez and State Sen. Jamie B. Raskin, he reminded Trone that Maryland lawmakers have day jobs. Barve works as chief financial officer for a Rockville environmental firm, and said he could be earning a lot more if he weren’t in public office. | |
| “Listen, to denigrate me or someone else as being a career politician is to be ignorant of the kind of sacrifices I undertake,” Barve said. “I do it because I love public service and because I see the value in having one foot in each world. I’m in the private sector, as I have been my entire adult life, and I'm a state legislator and I’m damn proud of it.” | “Listen, to denigrate me or someone else as being a career politician is to be ignorant of the kind of sacrifices I undertake,” Barve said. “I do it because I love public service and because I see the value in having one foot in each world. I’m in the private sector, as I have been my entire adult life, and I'm a state legislator and I’m damn proud of it.” |
| Siegel, who declined to say who she supports in the Democratic primary, wasn’t especially happy with the answers from those who haven’t held office. She said the 8th District incumbent, Rep. Chris Van Hollen — who is running for the U.S. Senate — is well-regarded because voters had grown familiar with him from his four years in the House of Delegates and eight years in the state senate. | |
| “We really know him. There’s a relationship,” she said. | “We really know him. There’s a relationship,” she said. |