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[ Back to index of September articles ] St. John’s parishioner runs for DC Council Sam Brooks was born to be a politician. At least that's how he felt coming off the presidential campaign for Bill Bradley. He'd quit college to join up for the whirlwind experience, during which he held three separate jobs for the candidate, worked 110-hour weeks - and "loved every minute of it." "When I finished that experience, I knew there was nothing else I wanted to do with my life," he said. He was ready for a life of public service. There was another epiphany moment for Brooks, but it took place a few years before, when, at age 18, he became the youngest member of the Inquirer's Class at St. John's, Lafayette Square. While exploring his motivation behind becoming a baptized Episcopalian, he discovered something else: "I really felt my calling was public service," he said. Now Brooks, just 24, is running for the at-large seat on the D.C. City Council. His age raises eyebrows, but this is an ambitious man who speaks with a confident polish beyond his years. And he is sure that this is the right time for him to run. He could have padded his resume in a more conventional way, serving in an Advisory Neighborhood Commission and otherwise participating in local politics. But in politics, timing is everything, and "it just felt like the timing was right," he said. If timing is everything, location runs a close second. When Brooks decided to pursue a political life, friends and family advised him to look beyond the District of Columbia, considered by many as a dead end. He considered Northern Virginia, suburban Maryland, even Massachusetts, but ultimately found opportunity in his hometown. "This is where I grew up," he said. "This is the town I care about. These are the people I want to represent." He wrote his senior thesis at Claremont McKenna College on former D.C. mayor Marion Barry, and became even more convinced that the city could use an enthusiastic newcomer. So what if the District barely has a seat at the national table politic, as friends warned? "If public service is about serving the public, and I serve 550,000 people, that's good enough for me," he said. So far, Brooks has made a decent showing in his race. His competitors - incumbent Harold Brazil and newcomer Kwame Brown - are more experienced, but Brooks touts his time campaigning for John Edwards and Bill Bradley. He also founded an online Senate news service. Brooks guarantees that, if elected, he will work full time for the city, and points out that Brazil continues to work at his law firm despite his $92,000 a year position on the council. Brooks declares the most important issue in the city is education, and questions the time it's taken to hire a new superintendent. He is pounding the pavement in a 1,000-mile walk, covering as much of the city as he can in order to meet all kinds of constituents, and has found enough support to raise $50,000 for his election. Brooks, who attends St. John's 12:10 p.m. service every Sunday, is a natural for that politically active congregation. Forums and services feature people like Sen. Edward Kennedy and South African Archbishop Njongonkulu Ndungane; outreach includes Habitat for Humanity, after school programs for underprivileged children and feeding ministries. Brooks came to St. John's after sporadic attendance at Christ Church, Georgetown, with his parents. He was attracted by its activism and, he said: "I just felt like something was missing in my life." St. John's helped fill that gap, and now Brooks is a familiar face there. But you won't see him wearing his own political buttons to services. That hour on Sunday is a special time. To see his campaign in action, you'll have to meet him outside - or check out his Web site: www.electsam.com [ Back to index of September articles ]
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By Virginia Myers Kelly