I took educational trips to cities such as Washington, D.C., Williamsburg, Va., Philadelphia and Boston to learn about America’s history. I trace my interest in politics and government back to those days, and I think of them often as I climb the steps and walk the halls of the Capitol.
Folks often ask me what has surprised me the most about serving in Congress. To be honest, there have been very few surprises. With 10 years of experience in Washington as a staff member on Capitol Hill and beyond, I generally understood what the job entailed and what the pressures were like. The decision not to seek re-election was an agonizing one for my wife and me, but we know it’s the right one. I’ve talked with several former members who made similar choices, and they all said the same thing: I will not regret having more time with my young family.
When I was elected in 2010, my daughter was 3 years old and my son was only a few months old. As I settled into the weekly routine of flying back and forth to Washington, I missed my wife and children, but my time away didn’t fully register with our kids. That’s changed as they’ve grown older — fast. Now, Mary Katherine, my daughter, knows when I’m not around to help with homework. She knows when I’m not there for tennis, and John, my son, knows when I’m not there for soccer. Thankfully, my wonderful wife, Elizabeth, continues to keep things together when I’m gone. Still, every time I walk out the door now, even if I’m just getting the newspaper, John asks me, “Dad, are you coming back?”
I will always have to travel, sometimes extensively. But right now, I need a little more say in which days I miss and which days I don’t. I’ve missed all three of John’s birthdays and it looks like I’ll miss his fourth, but I’m going to be there for No. 5.
Many members have children who are in high school or married, or who have moved out of the house; that’s a completely different situation. Other members who have young children may be able to handle their parenting duties differently. It’s a very personal decision each family must make on its own.
With my family in Arkansas, Washington was never going to be a home, so I chose to sleep in my office. It’s great, and as a bonus, I don’t have to worry about a car or a commute. I can work in my office until late at night, go to bed and when I wake up, I’m already at work. Hitting the congressional gym provides a great opportunity to build friendships. Even if I stayed in Congress for a decade, I would still sleep in my office every night.
From the beginning, I’ve tried to model my service after the Founding Fathers’ ideal of the citizen legislator in terms of accessibility and tenure: I routinely give my cellphone number to constituents, and I always knew that I would serve in the House for years, not decades. My decision to hit the pause button on my time in Congress is also consistent with my 2010 pledge to serve no more than six terms in the House.
Benjamin Franklin wrote in 1785 that members of Congress “are of the people, and return again to mix with the people, having no more durable preeminence than the different grains of sand in an hourglass.” George Mason, a Virginia delegate to the Constitutional Convention, agreed, saying in 1788: “Nothing is so essential to the preservation of a republican government as a periodical rotation. Nothing so strongly impels a man to regard the interest of his constituents as the certainty of returning to the general mass of the people, from whence he was taken, where he must participate their burdens.” I don’t presume to know how often this “periodical rotation” should take place for everyone serving in Congress; that is up to each member — and the voters — to decide for themselves. All other factors aside, if a representative believes he or she is the best candidate to serve the district, they should endeavor to serve. After all, it was the various “burdens” Mason referred to, and my worry about what kind of future my children faced, that motivated me to go to Washington in the first place.
Tim Griffin Attorney General of Arkansas