By Andrew A. Green
                          Sun Staff
                          Originally published January 8, 2003

                    WASHINGTON - C.A. Dutch Ruppersberger was sworn in as the
                    new congressman from Maryland's 2nd District yesterday, and though
                    he spent the last 17 years in local government, his new colleagues say
                    this little fish is swimming just fine in the big pond.

                    Case in point: Shortly after the November election, Ruppersberger
                    was in a meeting of the freshman Democratic caucus when a
                    disagreement broke out over who should be elected the class
                    president, Denise Majette of Georgia or Frank Ballance of North
                    Carolina. No clear consensus developed either way, and the matter
                    was headed to a vote.

                    "It had been a long day for everybody," Ballance said. "We didn't want
                    to make this thing a big deal."

                    To Ruppersberger, 57, a politician fresh from two terms as Baltimore
                    County executive who has been preaching the value of teamwork since
                    his days as a star athlete at City College, voting seemed like a bad
                    idea. After all, they were the freshmen in the minority party in the
                    House of Representatives, the lowest of the low, and, he said, if they
                    wanted to get anything done at all, they would need to stick together.

                    So, he suggested the two candidates split the job, one taking the first
                    year, the other taking the second.

                    They went for it.

                    But how to decide who gets the first year and which the second?

                    Ruppersberger grabbed a more veteran member, Rep. Sheila
                    Jackson-Lee of Texas, and had her flip a coin.

                    "What could be more democratic than that?" Ballance said. "Call it in
                    the air."

                    "I just thought that way, we can all pull together as a class without any
                    bitterness," Ruppersberger said.

                    Ballance won the coin toss, but Ruppersberger may have gotten the
                    best of the deal.

                    When the time came to select a freshman to serve on the Steering
                    Committee, the group that decides which members get seats on which
                    committees, Ruppersberger got the slot.

                    "A lot of freshmen would die to get on Steering," said Rep. Elijah E.
                    Cummings, a Democrat from Maryland's 7th District. "I've got to ask
                    him what his secret is."

                    Cummings won't have far to go to ask - Ruppersberger's new office is
                    right next door. His staff doesn't have any office supplies just yet, but
                    thanks to the anthrax scare in the building last year, they do have three
                    rooms full of brand-new furniture.

                    With a district so close to Washington, Ruppersberger's open house
                    celebrating his swearing-in was a wall-to-wall affair for most of the
                    day, with hundreds of his constituents and friends spilling out into the
                    hallway.

                    "I'm just really honored that the voters of the 2nd District would have
                    enough confidence in my abilities to put me in a position of trust in
                    Congress," Ruppersberger said. "The more you're here, the more you
                    realize the history and tradition."

                    Ruppersberger's district includes about half of Baltimore County and
                    parts of Anne Arundel and Harford counties and Baltimore City.

                    The veterans in Maryland's delegation said they expect Ruppersberger
                    will do well. His time in local government has given him a good sense
                    of what his constituents are interested in, as well as expertise in land
                    use, schools, transportation and other matters that many of his
                    colleagues lack, members of Maryland's delegation said.

                    "He will bring very meaningful expertise to the conference," said
                    Cummings, who became chairman of the Congressional Black Caucus
                    this term. "A lot of what you get done here is people's perception of
                    you and whether you are significant. I think that in and of itself makes
                    Dutch a very significant person here."

                    Maryland's senators, Paul S. Sarbanes and Barbara A. Mikulski, both
                    Democrats, stopped by Ruppersberger's open house yesterday
                    afternoon to pay their respects. Both said they believe
                    Ruppersberger's people skills and his grounding with his constituents
                    will serve him well.

                    "I've always thought since he first started thinking about it that he
                    would find it an environment in which he could work very effectively,"
                    Sarbanes said.

                    "He has a knack for politics because he has a knack for people,"
                    Mikulski said. "He has experience in the legislature - this isn't quite as
                    pal-sy as the Maryland General Assembly, but it's still his kind of
                    place."

                    Mikulski had a few pieces of advice: Don't eat the sushi, stay away
                    from embassy cocktail parties, work hard, try for teamwork, but "as
                    Harry Truman said, you've got to be ready to give 'em hell sometimes."

                    So far, Ballance said, Ruppersberger is having no trouble winning
                    friends and influencing people. In addition to a seat on the Steering
                    Committee, he's also been named an assistant whip.

                    "Dutch is a friendly guy. You know people like him - he comes across
                    very well," Ballance said.

                    The only danger, Cummings said, is that Ruppersberger might be too
                    accustomed to life as the all-powerful county executive, a job in which
                    he could make things happen with a single phone call.

                    "I just hope he doesn't get frustrated," Cummings said.

                    Copyright © 2003, The Baltimore Sun