Rep. C.A. Dutch Ruppersberger’s farewell message to friends and constituents arrived the other day, expressing pride and humility at the end of a 22-year run on Capitol Hill. Between the lines, there was modesty, too.
He was never a guy to call great attention to himself. The job was about work, and not self-aggrandizement. He helped bring hundreds of millions of dollars to the Baltimore metropolitan area for police and firefighters, schools, roads and bridges and hospitals, and military vets.
You won’t find any great big headline items in that list, nor would you see Dutch grabbing much space as one of the familiar TV news talking heads. He did his work quietly. He had terrific staffs looking after constituent services. And he worked across the aisle whenever he could.
Representing the state’s 2nd District, it had to be that way. He knew he had a mixed political crowd every Election Day, drawing from parts of Carroll and Baltimore counties and the city, and he aimed to show voters his heart was in moderate political ground.
In less contentious times, that was always considered a national ideal: reach for middle ground. In his farewell message, Dutch notes that he “tried my best to lead with common sense, integrity and a collaborative spirit. I hope my colleagues in Congress continue to try to work together whenever and wherever possible.”
We’ll see how that works out as Donald Trump and Elon Musk bring an entirely new ethos to Washington.
From his high school time at Baltimore City College, where he graduated in 1963, Dutch learned the value of team play. He had first-rate teachers there. And he played ball for a couple of legendary coaches, Joe Brune in lacrosse and George Young in football.
Brune’s 1962 outfit was the last public school team to win a city lacrosse championship. Young’s football team won the city football title that same school year.
But Ruppersberger learned larger lessons than championships. In every political victory over the years, he stressed Young’s message about inner strength, and getting back on your feet after getting knocked down.
He won a lot of political races over the years – for Baltimore County Council, for Baltimore County executive, for U.S. Congress — but he remained the same self-effacing guy through it all.
Some years back, when he was named to the House Intelligence Committee, I telephoned him on the appointment.
“Intelligence Committee?” I said. “You better hope nobody goes digging into your grade point average at City College and gets you out of there.”
“I know,” he replied. “If any of my old teachers heard about this, they must be spinning in their grades.”
We were both joking around. He was solid academically, as in all matters. And he was a great friend when I needed him, and I can’t sign off without thanking him for that.
A former Baltimore Sun columnist and WJZ-TV commentator, Michael Olesker is the author of six books, including “Journeys to the Heart of Baltimore” (Johns Hopkins University Press) and “Michael Olesker’s Baltimore: If You Live Here, You’re Home” (Johns Hopkins University).
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