Paul Sarbanes

Paul Spyros Sarbanes (born February 3, 1933), a Democrat, is the senior and current class 1 United States Senator representing the state of Maryland. Sarbanes has been the longest-serving senator in Maryland history, but will not seek re-election in 2006.

Early life

Paul Sarbanes was born in the Maryland Eastern Shore city of Salisbury. His father and mother, Spyros and Matina, were immigrants from Laconia, Greece.

A graduate of Wicomico High School in Salisbury, Sarbanes received an academic and athletic scholarship to Princeton University, earning a bachelor's degree in 1954. He was awarded a Rhodes Scholarship that brought him to Balliol College in Oxford, England, graduating first in his class in 1957. Sarbanes then returned to the United States and attended Harvard Law School.

After graduating in 1960, he clerked for Federal Judge Morris A. Soper before going into private practice with two Baltimore, Maryland law firms. In June 1960, Sarbanes married Christine Dunbar of Brighton, England; they have three children and six grandchildren. Sarbanes is a member of the Greek Orthodox Cathedral of the Annunciation in Baltimore.

Political career

In 1966, Sarbanes ran for the Maryland House of Delegates in Baltimore City and won. During his four years as a State Legislator in Annapolis, Maryland he served on the Judiciary and the Ways and Means Committees.

He was elected to the United States House of Representatives in 1970 and was reelected in 1972 and 1974. While in the House, Sarbanes served on the Judiciary Committee, the Merchant Marine and Fisheries Committee, and the Select Committee on House Reorganization. It was during his service in the House, in August 1974, that Sarbanes was selected by his Democratic colleagues on the House Watergate Committee to introduce the first Article of Impeachment, for obstruction of justice, against President Richard Nixon.

In 1976, Sarbanes was elected to the Senate and reelected in 1982, 1988, 1994 and 2000. In 2002, Sarbanes was the Senate sponsor of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002, which reformed federal securities laws in the wake of the 2002 corporate accounting scandals.

Senator Sarbanes serves on the following Senate committees:

• Ranking Member of the Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs Committee.
• Senior Member Foreign Relations Committee.
• Senior Member Budget Committee.
• Senior Member Joint Economic Committee.

Succession

On March 11, 2005, Sarbanes, who has been the longest serving senator in Maryland history, called a news conference announcing he will not be seeking re-election in 2006. As of April 26, 2005, most prominent potential Democratic candidates have already stated whether or not they will be candidates for the vacant seat, with a notable excepion being seventh district congressman Elijah Cummings. No Republicans have announced their plans to seek election.

Earlier photograph of Senator Sarbanes.

Only two candidates—both Democrats—have officially announced their candidacy: former NAACP president and former seventh district congressman Kweisi Mfume on March 14, 2005 [1] (http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/local/bal-te.md.mfume15mar15,1,5714384.story), and current third district congressman Ben Cardin on April 26, 2005 in Baltimore [2] (http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/local/politics/bal-cardin0426,1,7586254.story). Eighth district congressman Chris Van Hollen announced he will be forming exploratory committees to decide whether or not to run for the seat.

Prominent Democrats who have announced they will not be running for the seat include: 3rd district congressman Dutch Ruppersberger [3] (http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/local/bal-md.senate14apr14,1,7384944.story) (who had initially formed an exploratory committee), 4th district congressman Albert Wynn and 5th district congressman Steny Hoyer.

Some potential candidates from the Republican Party could give Maryland its first Republican senator in over 20 Years, namely Lt. Governor Michael Steele, and Maryland State Senator Edward "E.J." Pipkin. On March 17, 2005, Republican Governor Robert L. Ehrlich dispelled rumors and said neither he nor his wife will be candidates. [4] (http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/local/politics/bal-md.ehrlich17mar17001652,1,2117907.story)

An April 2005 poll conducted by The Baltimore Sun asked Marylanders which Democratic candidate they would most likely vote for. In a theoretical situation presented by the Sun, Mfume received 32% of the vote, Cardin 26%, and Van Hollen 16% (margin of error 4.5%). In a similar poll, the Sun also found that if Cardin were to run against Steele, he would garner 41% of the vote vs. Steele's 37% (margin or error 3.2%). [5] (http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/local/politics/bal-md.cardin21apr21,1,1243185.story?coll=bal-mdpolitics-headlines)

The primary elections will be held on September 12, 2006, and the general election will be on November 7, 2006.

External link

• Official Website for Senator Sarbanes. (http://sarbanes.senate.gov)