Dutch Ruppersberger

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Dutch Ruppersberger
Dutchruppersberger.jpeg
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives
from Maryland's 2nd district
Incumbent
Assumed office
January 3, 2003
Preceded by Robert Ehrlich
Personal details
Born Charles Albert Ruppersberger III
(1946-01-31) January 31, 1946 (age 67)
Baltimore, Maryland
Political party Democratic
Spouse(s) Kay Ruppersberger
Children Cory Ruppersberger
Jill Ruppersberger
Residence Cockeysville, Maryland
Alma mater University of Maryland, College Park

University of Baltimore
Occupation Attorney
Religion Methodist

Charles Albert "Dutch" Ruppersberger III (born January 31, 1946) is the U.S. Representative for Maryland's 2nd congressional district, serving since 2003. He is a member of the Democratic Party.

The district covers parts of Baltimore County, Anne Arundel County, Harford County and Baltimore City, including Dundalk, Towson and Severn.

Contents

Early life, education and career [edit]

Ruppersberger was born in Baltimore, Maryland, the son of Margaret "Peggy" (née Wilson) and Charles Albert "Al" Ruppersberger, Jr. He is of part German descent.[1] His nickname "Dutch" comes from Deutsch meaning German.[2] He attended Baltimore City College and the University of Maryland, College Park, where he played varsity lacrosse. He earned his Juris Doctor from the University of Baltimore School of Law.

Ruppersberger began his career as a Baltimore County Assistant State's Attorney. He was soon promoted to the Chief of the State's Attorney Office Investigative Division, pursuing organized crime, political corruption, and drug trafficking. In December 1994 and again in 1998, Ruppersberger was elected Baltimore County Executive.

U.S. House of Representatives [edit]

Congressman Ruppersberger calls on Congress to create a cabinet level intelligence director on August 3, 2004.

Committee assignments [edit]

Party leadership [edit]

  • Assistant Whip

Ruppersberger was the first Democratic freshman ever to be appointed to the House Select Committee on Intelligence.

As the ranking Democratic member of the Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, Ruppersberger is a member of the Gang of Eight, a group of the Congressional leaders whom the President is required to keep informed about national intelligence activities.

Philippines visit [edit]

On August 25, 2007, Ruppersberger joined Rep. Silvestre Reyes, chairman of the Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence and the Armed Services Committee, and four other members of Congress visited American troops deployed in the southern Philippines to overview the US-Philippines relationship. They drove to the base of the Joint Special Operation Task Force Philippines (JSOTFP), a US-led body, which trains Filipino soldiers against terror, in Barangay Upper Calarian.[3]

Operations Hero Miles [edit]

Ruppersberger created the "Operation Hero Miles" program, which encourages people to donate unused frequent flyer miles to U.S. armed forces personnel and families.[4] He won a Charles Dick Medal of Merit in 2004 for this initiative, thus becoming the last Marylander to win this award which was previously awarded to U.S. Rep. Beverly Byron (1992), State Senator John Astle (1993), U.S. Senator Barbara Mikulski (1994), U.S. Rep. Roscoe Bartlett (1998) and State Del (now State Comptroller) Peter Franchot (1999).

CISPA [edit]

Congressman Ruppersberger, along with Michigan Republican Mike Rogers, co-sponsored the Cyber Intelligence Sharing and Protection Act, designed to increase intelligence sharing between private cyber security firms and government agencies.[5] Many groups, such as the Electronic Frontier Foundation, have criticized the act for a lack of privacy and civil liberties protections, claiming that it authorizes government surveillance of private communications and allows companies to hand over large amounts of personal information on their clients without a warrant or judicial oversight, and thereby creates a cybersecurity loophole in existing privacy laws, such as the Wiretap Act and the Electronic Communications Privacy Act.[6] CISPA passed the House of Representatives on April 26, 2012.[7] It was reintroduced into the House on February 13, 2013 and passed on April 18, 2013. [8]

Political campaigns [edit]

Barred from a third term as County Executive, Ruppersberger opted to run for Congress in 2002 after 2nd District Congressman Bob Ehrlich made what turned out to be a successful run for governor. The Maryland General Assembly significantly altered the 2nd by shifting most of its share of Harford County to the 1st and 6th Districts. In its place, the legislature added a heavily Democratic portion of Baltimore City that had previously been in the 1st District. This turned the 2nd from a swing district into a strongly Democratic district. It was an open secret that the district was drawn for Ruppersberger; local media called the new district "the Dutch district." An August 2011 editorial by The Washington Post describes the 2nd district as "curlicue territories strung together by impossibly delicate tendrils of land" and "a crazy-quilt confection drawn for the express purpose of ousting the incumbent at the time, Rep. (and later Gov.) Robert L. Ehrlich Jr., a Republican, and installing C.A. Dutch Ruppersberger, a Democrat who still holds the job."[9] He defeated Republican opponent Helen Delich Bentley, who had represented the 2nd district from 1985 to 1995, with 55 percent of the vote. Ruppersberger has never faced another contest even that close, and has been reelected four times. On April 10, 2013, the Baltimore Sun reported that Ruppersberger is considering a run for Governor of Maryland in 2014.[10]

Electoral history [edit]

Year Office Election Subject Party Votes  % Opponent Party Votes  %
1994 Baltimore County Executive General Charles Albert Ruppersberger, III Democratic N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A
1998 Baltimore County Executive General Charles Albert Ruppersberger, III Democratic 166,482 70.47 John J. Bishop Republican 69,449 29.4
2002 Maryland's 2nd congressional district General Charles Albert Ruppersberger, III Democratic 105,718 54.16 Helen Delich Bentley Republican 88,954 45.57
2004 Maryland's 2nd congressional district General Charles Albert Ruppersberger, III Democratic 164,751 66.62 Jane Brooks Republican 75,812 30.66
2006 Maryland's 2nd congressional district General Charles Albert Ruppersberger, III Democratic 135,818 69.21 Jimmy Mathis Republican 60,195 30.68
2008 Maryland's 2nd congressional district General Charles Albert Ruppersberger, III Democratic 198,578 71.9 Richard Pryce Matthews Republican 68,561 24.8
2010 Maryland's 2nd congressional district General Charles Albert Ruppersberger, III Democratic 134,133 64.21 Marcelo Cardarelli Republican 69,523 33.28

Personal life [edit]

Ruppersberger married in 1971 and has two grown children, Cory and Jill.[11]

See also [edit]

References [edit]

  1. ^ http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~battle/reps/ruppersberger.htm
  2. ^ Something associated with German, (Deutsch) through associated meaning and sound of the word and common etymology of "Deutsch" vs. "Dutch"
  3. ^ "Inquirer.net, US congressmen visit troops in Mindanao". Retrieved 2011-11-20. 
  4. ^ "Ruppersberger Receives Medal For 'Operation Hero Miles'". WBAL-TV. Retrieved 17 August 2011. 
  5. ^ "House to take up cybersecurity bill with revisions". Reuters. April 11, 2012. 
  6. ^ https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2012/04/cybersecurity-bill-faq-disturbing-privacy-dangers-cispa-and-how-you-stop-it
  7. ^ http://clerk.house.gov/evs/2012/roll192.xml
  8. ^ http://www.gop.gov/bill/113/1/hr624
  9. ^ "Maryland Democrats redraw the congressional district map". The Washington Post. 20 August 2011. Retrieved 22 August 2011. 
  10. ^ "Ruppersberger considering run for Governor". The Baltimore Sun. 10 April 2013. Retrieved 11 April 2013. 
  11. ^ Biography (2011-10-25). "Biography - Congressman Ruppersberger". Dutch.house.gov. Retrieved 2011-11-20. 

External links [edit]

Political offices
Preceded by
Roger B. Hayden		 Baltimore County Executive
1994 – 2002		 Succeeded by
James T. Smith
United States House of Representatives
Preceded by
Robert Ehrlich		 Member of the U.S. House of Representatives
from Maryland's 2nd congressional district
2003–present		 Incumbent
United States order of precedence
Preceded by
Mike D. Rogers
R-Alabama		 United States Representatives by seniority
168th		 Succeeded by
Tim Ryan
D-Ohio
Senators
Representatives
(ordered by district)
Other states'
delegations
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