By Ken Fletcher

Special to The Sentinel

Rep. Steny Hoyer (D-Dist. 5) has been working his way up his whole life. His election last month to House majority leader at age 67 will make Hoyer one of the top Democrats in the country and give him a chance to restore "honesty and civility to the House of Representatives," as he said on MSNBC's Hardball after the election.

Hoyer's persona and incessant effort have led him to the vital leadership position he will occupy. In their profile of Hoyer, Congressional Quarterly said "charming and impeccably dressed, Hoyer has well-honed skills as an inside operator and a smoothness in front of the cameras that makes him a favorite party spokesman."

Hoyer has proven that he knows how to garner support from both his constituents and fellow congressmen by working hard for them and using funding in strategic ways.

Hoyer, who said in an e-mail he is "proud of his roots in Prince George's County," first moved to Maryland from New York City as a teenager in 1955 and attended Suitland High School, where he met his late wife, Judith.

Even in his days at the University of Maryland, Hoyer showed his ambition. After seeing President John F. Kennedy give a speech there he decided to go into government, Hoyer said. Hoyer graduated magna cum laude in 1963 and was selected "outstanding male graduate," according to his congressional biography.

Hoyer went on to earn his law degree from the Georgetown University Law Center in 1966, the same year that he was elected to the Maryland Senate at age 27. There are frequent references from his early years calling him the "boy wonder" of Maryland politics. Continuing his rise, Hoyer became the youngest president ever of the Maryland Senate in 1975, according to his Congressional biography. After losing the race for lieutenant governor in 1978, he served on the Maryland State Board for Higher Education until 1981, when he was elected to the House in a special off-year election after 5th district Rep. Gladys Spellman fell into a coma.

Hoyer was thrust into the spotlight recently during recent struggles with future House speaker and one-time rival Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) in his bid for House majority leader.

Working his way up from Democratic whip, a position he was elected to in late 2002 facing no opposition, Hoyer ran against Rep. John Murtha (D-Pa.), who had the backing of Pelosi.

Hoyer's rivalry with Pelosi dates back to 2001, when he ran for Democratic whip unsuccessfully against her. Many congressmen cited the need to have a woman in a top Democratic position, The Washington Post reported in 2002. That was his second attempt at the job: he lost in 1991 as well.

This time, Hoyer's hard work campaigning, providing funding for his party and building relationships paid off. He won easily against Murtha in a 149 to 86 vote.

He donated more money to other congressmen's campaigns during the 2006 election than any other Democrat, according to information compiled by the Center for Responsive Politics. The $835,726 that he gave handily topped the amounts given by other big Democrat campaigners Pelosi, Rep. Rahm Emanuel (D-Ill.) and Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.).

The bulk of the money, $651,500, came from his leadership political action committee, AmeriPAC, records at the Center for Responsive Politics showed. The overwhelming majority of donations, 96 percent, went to the Democratic House candidates who would later elect him majority leader.

Murtha, his competitor for the post, did not establish a leadership PAC.

Leadership PACs are often used to gain favor among colleagues and advance the committee director's position, according to the center. They also provide a way for individuals to donate to a candidate even after they have reached contribution limits.

His ascension to majority leader follows a trouble-free reelection in November to a 14th term in Congress after a race in which no Republican chose to run against him.

Because he occupies a virtually guaranteed seat, Hoyer is known for using his time to campaign for his colleagues around the country.

Rep. Earl Pomeroy (D-N.D.) told CongressDaily in 2003 of a visit Hoyer made to Pomeroy's district during his tough reelection campaign to speak about flood control.

"In the teeth of a driving rain, we stood on a dike under construction talking about the need for Grand Forks flood protection," Pomeroy said. "That's classic Steny Hoyer."

Though often considered a moderate Democrat based on his votes on important issues, the American Conservative Union gave Hoyer a relatively low lifetime rating of eight when compared with Murtha's 33.

But Hoyer is willing to work with Republicans in Congress. "He is not seen as a polarizing figure," said Zach Messitte, assistant professor of political science at St. Mary's College of Maryland.

Hoyer said that as minority whip he had lunch every other month with Republican Whip Roy Blunt.

"We didn't always agree, but we had the ability to talk to one another and to focus on how we can make deliberation fairer in the Congress of the United States," Hoyer said in Yahoo's "Talk to Power" series.

Hoyer has used the same combination of presence and money to gain a strong following among his constituents in a district that often votes Republican in other elections. In his district two of the three Southern Maryland counties voted for Republican Robert Ehrlich in the governor's race by margins over 15 percent, though Ehrlich lost the state.

He frequently appears at events throughout his district.

"I am always amazed about how present he is given his national and party responsibilities. He's everywhere," said Messitte, adding that it is unusual to see a congressman so active in his district.

This fall, Hoyer appeared at numerous Southern Maryland events like the St. Mary's Oyster Festival, the Farm Life Festival and a ball at St. Mary's Hospital. At the same time he was making trips around the country campaigning for fellow congressmen, said Messitte.

Hoyer's Southern Maryland home in Mechanicsville makes it easier for him to stay close to his constituents and his district's proximity to Washington gives him an advantage over other congressmen, Messitte adds.

In the early '90s, when his district was changed to include less of liberal Prince George's County and all of more conservative Southern Maryland, Hoyer had to win over voters.

His wife teased him because he started to wear cowboy boots after redistricting included the rural counties, The Capital reported in 1997.

Hoyer's 1992 bid, his first race including Southern Maryland, was also his closest one. He won with 53 percent of the vote, but his popularity has steadily risen since then. He won with 69 percent of the vote in 2004, the last election with a Republican challenger.

There is a large presence of federal workers in his district and military bases like the Patuxent River Naval Air Station play an important role in the community. Hoyer has focused on this to win over his constituents. He lobbied for the bases in his district to remain open during base closings in the 80s and 90s and also worked to pass the Federal Employee Pay Comparability Act in 1990, said his Congressional Biography.

The funding Hoyer secured for his district has been an important way of currying favor among voters. He is among the top 10 percent of earmarkers in the House, according to an estimate by Steve Ellis, vice president of programs for Taxpayers for Common Sense.

Looking at earmarks and FY '06 appropriations bills, Taxpayers for Common sense said Hoyer sent $61.7 million to his district in 2006.

Earmarking allocates funding for specific projects chosen by politicians and is part of "pork-barrel politics," in which funding is given to local projects designed to boost votes and campaign contributions for a congressman. Serving as a senior member of the House Appropriations Committee helped Hoyer provide earmarks for his district, Messitte notes.

Hoyer is proud of the money that he funnels into Southern Maryland. "This is pork," Hoyer was quoted saying by The Washington Post at the completion of a jetty in August. "But there is good pork and bad pork. Good investment and bad investment. This is a good investment."

Earmarking can bring up ethical concerns when funding is given to campaign contributors. Hoyer has touted earmarking and "talked about it as something that he is keen on and engaged in. That's where it's a double edged sword for anybody in the Democratic leadership," said Ellis.

Hoyer has provided funding for those who contribute heavily to him. In a 2006 defense appropriations bill Hoyer secured $2.8 million for ManTech International Corp., which has donated $49,000 to Hoyer's campaign and leadership PAC since 2001 through executives and its political action committee, The Los Angeles Times reported in November.

"The only reason I get to be a national leader is because I am supported at the local level," Hoyer was quoted saying in 2005 in The Baltimore Sun. "If you forget that, you become a former national leader and a former member of Congress."

It is impressive that Hoyer spends so much time raising donations, visiting with his constituents, campaigning for his colleagues and assuming his House leadership duties. Hoyer's wife, Judith, whom he met in high school, died in 1997 of cancer. He has three daughters, several grandchildren and a dog, Charlotte, that The Washington Post said in 2004 had a bed in Hoyer's office and enjoyed playing in the marshes near his home in Mechanicsville. But Messitte notes that clearly politics "is his life, he devotes his life to this."