Sarbanes '84 champions education

A generation later, in 2006, the younger Sarbanes was elected to represent Maryland's 3rd Congressional District in the House of Representatives, the same district that his father, Paul Sarbanes '54, represented 30 years ago.

This November, Sarbanes will run for re-election against Thomas Harris, a Republican running his first-ever campaign. Sarbanes has raised just shy of $1 million for this race, according to the Federal Elections Commission. The 3rd Congressional District, which includes Baltimore City, has not elected a Republican in more than eight decades.

With the everyday presence of public service during Sarbanes' childhood, it was not unexpected that he would become a politician.

"They've seen it all, and they've lived through it," Paul Sarbanes said in a 2007 interview, referring to the impact his career as a congressman had on his children, all three of whom are Princeton alumni. "Public issues were always a major subject of discussion around the house," he added.

The elder Sarbanes served three terms in the House of Representatives and five terms in the Senate. John's mother, Christine, was a schoolteacher and college professor.

While at Princeton, John Sarbanes was president of the College Democrats, bringing the membership of the organization from 15 to 400 during his tenure. Sarbanes was an avid campaigner and supported Walter Mondale in 1984 as the "clear choice" for president, he said in an interview with The Daily Princetonian in 1984. "If anyone can bring the youth and innovation of John Kennedy into government, he can do it," he said.

In a recent interview with the ‘Prince,' Sarbanes said that his involvement in his community - both in high school and at Princeton - drove him to a career in public service.

Sarbanes applauded Princeton's unofficial motto and emphasis on public service. "They want to keep that piece in the mix whether you do it as a vocation or an avocation," he said. "You want that sort of public service commitment to be part of who you are."

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Last year, Sarbanes introduced the Education for Public Service Act, which aims to reduce college costs and keep graduates in the public service sector by reducing monthly payments on loans and enhancing loan forgiveness. The bill is currently in subcommittee.

"There's been increasing pressure on people who go into public service because of the high cost of higher education," Sarbanes said. "We have to look at other incentives to make it easier for young people to choose a career in public service ... We particularly have to do that now since there are so many jobs that are becoming vacant, especially in the central government."

Princeton students considering a career in the public sector, Sarbanes said, should actively research and seek out the many opportunities available. "I think some of the most exciting careers are going to be in the public sector," he noted. "We need Princeton graduates ... We need people of that caliber in these important jobs if we're going to be able to move the country forward."

Sarbanes, who voted in favor of the $700 billion financial stabilization package both times that it was brought to a vote in the House, noted that the current economic crisis might encourage more graduates to consider careers in public service and place less peer pressure on those who "always would have chosen the public service path" to consider more lucrative careers.

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"The days of fast and easy money, which marked the last few years, I think, are not in the cards for a while," he said.

Sarbanes also sponsored the No Child Left Inside Act, which "get[s] kids outdoors into nature, into the environment as a way of improving public health, as a way of raising awareness of the environment and as a way of engaging them in learning," he explained. The bill passed in the House in September.

Working on committees is just one part of the often-hectic daily life of a congressman. Once, he said, "they put a pedometer on a few congressmen and determined we walk an average of six miles a day."

Sarbanes' day-to-day life as a congressman, however, differs from that of most of his peers. "I live close enough to Washington that I can drive to work everyday," Sarbanes said, "which really does change the job because when I come here, I'm not stuck here for four to five days at a time ... I feel it's a huge benefit for me because I can have real-time communication with my constituents."

Prior to getting elected to the House, Sarbanes served on the health care practice at the Venable law firm for 16 years, where he represented nonprofit hospitals in Maryland.

While at Princeton, Sarbanes participated in the Student Volunteers Council project at the Skillman Training School for Boys and was a member of the Karate Club. One of Sarbanes' favorite professors while at Princeton was creative writing professor Edmund Keeley '48, whom Sarbanes called a "premier translator of Greek poetry."

Sarbanes studied in Greece on a Fulbright Scholarship after graduating from Princeton and later attended Harvard Law School, where he met his wife Dina.

Like his parents before him, Sarbanes sets an example of public service for his three children. "What I try to pass on to my children is what my father passed on to us, which is this notion that public service can take many, many forms," he explained.

"Public service doesn't mean government service," Sarbanes noted. "It can be volunteering in your community or serving on a board. And that kind of commitment is very consistent with the idea of ‘Princeton in the nation's service.' "