AUWCL Congratulates Congressman-Elect Jamie Raskin and Alumni Newly Elected to Office
American University Washington College of Law is proud to congratulate Professor Jamie Raskin on his election to the U.S. House of Representatives last Tuesday after collecting more than 59% of the vote in Maryland’s 8th Congressional District. Raskin prevailed in April over a field of nine candidates in the most expensive Congressional primary in U.S. history. He was outspent 10-1. After serving as a celebrated professor of constitutional law at AUWCL for 26 years and a Maryland State Senator for the last decade, Professor Raskin will now take the seat of the Hon. Chris Van Hollen, who won election last Tuesday to the U.S. Senate.
“We are thrilled that Jamie, a respected member of our faculty and leader of our Program on Law and Government, succeeded in his quest for a seat in the U.S. House of Representatives,” said Dean Camille Nelson. “Jamie has been such an important influence on countless students and alumni over the years and we are certain that his dedication to our community will carry forward into his new role representing 750,000 people in Maryland.”
Jamie will continue directing the Program on Law and Government and teaching his Constitutional Law class at AUWCL through the end of the fall semester. He has also been teaching courses in Legislative Process and First Amendment Law and was founding co-director with the late Tom Sargentich of the law school’s Program on Law and Government, which has attracted hundreds of LL.M. students to the law school. Raskin also worked with Professor Steve Wermiel to found the acclaimed Marshall-Brennan Constitutional Literacy Project, which began at AUWCL and has since spread across the country to more than 20 different law schools. The Project has sent thousands of law students nationwide into public high schools to teach many thousands of high school students a semester-long course about the Constitution and Bill of Rights.
The bestselling author of Overruling Democracy: the Supreme Court versus the American People and We the Students: Supreme Court Cases for and About Students, Raskin has been a State Senator in Maryland since 2006, representing Silver Spring and Takoma Park. As Senate Majority Whip, he led the fight in the Maryland Senate to pass marriage equality, abolish the death penalty, restore voting rights to ex-felons, ban military-style assault weapons and high-capacity magazines, enact tough anti-drunk driving laws and pass strong environmental legislation, including the Green Maryland Act.
Raskin also successfully introduced numerous original and nationally significant legislative initiatives, including the first National Popular Vote compact legislation in America (since passed by 10 states and the District of Columbia) and the first Benefit Corporation law in America (now in a majority of states). Working with AUWCL externs who join him every Spring for Maryland’s 90-day legislative session, Raskin has seen more than 120 of his bills pass into law and was consistently rated as one of the top 10 “most influential” Senators in the state.
Raskin and his wife Sarah, who is Deputy Secretary of the U.S. Treasury Department, have three children. Asked to comment on his election, Raskin said, “I am so grateful to the AUWCL community and the broader AU community for all the generous support and solidarity I’ve received. This community is amazing! While I have loved every minute of this 19-month campaign, honestly, I’m glad it’s over now, and I’m excited to go to Congress to fight for the Constitution, our civil rights and liberties, and strong democracy. And I’m bringing a number of former students with me, of course.”
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Alumni Newly Elected to Office
Congratulations to Robert White ’07, who was elected to the DC Council At-Large on Tuesday with 217,000 votes – the most ever for an At-Large candidate.
After graduating from American University Law School, Robert started as a law clerk in Montgomery County District Court. Next Robert was Legislative Counsel to Delegate Eleanor Holmes Norton, DC’s representative in Congress. Robert served as the lead staffer on Congressional oversight hearings related to the District. He drafted legislation to loosen Congress’ grip on DC government as well as legislation that continues to bring the District new money and more jobs.
Robert was selected by Attorney General Karl Racine to serve as the first Director of Community Outreach for OAG. He developed the blueprint for community engagement with a focus on increasing public safety, protecting seniors against scam-artists, and supporting at-risk youth.
Robert graduated from St. Mary’s College of Maryland and completed additional studies at Oxford University in England. He is a native of the District of Columbia.
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AUWCL also congratulates Sam Park, who graduated with an LL.M. in Law & Government in 2014. Sam became the first openly gay man elected to the Georgia State Legislature Tuesday, upsetting three-term, heavily funded Republican incumbent Rep. Valerie Clark in House District 101. Sam is just 31 years old.
Sam moved back to Georgia to pursue his career there and decided to launch his campaign earlier this year. He attended Georgia State University as an undergraduate and for law school.
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The law school would like to congratulate Illinois state representative Jack D. Franks ’89, wins first-ever McHenry Country Board chair. Franks defeated Republican candidate Michael Walkup with 57.5 percent of the vote compared with 42.5 for Walkup, according to unofficial results Tuesday night. The win marks the first time since 1978 that county voters have elected a Democrat to countywide office.
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And finally, congratulations to Sarah Stewart Holland ’07, who was elected to the Paducah, Kentucky City Commission. She was the only non-incumbent to join the Commission this year, along with three other commissioners who won re-election.
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