Professor considers teaching if re-elected to Congress

A Penn instructor is attempting to get elected to Congress, but that doesn’t mean she’s going to leave Penn behind entirely.

Fels Institute of Government professor and former U.S. Rep. Marjorie Margolies entered the race for her old seat in Pennsylvania’s 13th congressional district last week after months of speculation.

Margolies, who has taught classes at Penn since 1998, said teaching has allowed a relatively smooth re-entry into the life of politics. One of her signature classes, “Women Leaders and Emerging Democracies,” originated from her work with her nonprofit, Women’s Campaign International.

“I never really stopped doing what essentially I was doing in Congress,” she said. “I’ve never stopped doing either women, education, health care — all that kind of stuff — and politics. So going back in — it isn’t seamless — but it’s not that much of a leap.”

While Margolies, who served in Congress from 1993-95, will take a leave of absence during the next school year to focus on the campaign, she didn’t rule out teaching while in office — something which isn’t unprecedented at Fels.

“We have had current officeholders teach at Fels, so if she were to win that’s not out of the question,” Fels Executive Director David Thornburgh said. “Gov. [Ed] Rendell was teaching at Fels when he was governor and continues to teach, and we have a city councilman, James Kenney, that’s been teaching at Fels for a number of years.”

When asked, Margolies was enthusiastic: “I would in a heartbeat come back,” she said, adding that she would encourage WCI to stay involved with Fels regardless.

“Elected officials … esteem themselves as educators and teachers,” Thornburgh added.

Margolies re-entering Congress, however, is far from certain. With the primary election less than a year away, five other Democratic candidates have filed paperwork to run for the same seat, although two have already dropped out. State Sen. Daylin Leach’s (D-Montgomery) campaign is already in full swing, and Penn Medicine professor Valerie Arkoosh has had a strong fundraising push. State Rep. Brendan Boyle (D-Philadelphia) has also thrown his hat into the ring. The winner of the Democratic primary is almost guaranteed to win the general election in a district that is comprised of Montgomery County and parts of Philadelphia.

Still, Margolies emphasized the strong response she’s gotten from party leaders.

“We’re working closely with some of the city leaders and almost all of the Montgomery County leaders … so the initial response has been very good,” she said. Margolies added that she’s also received encouragement from national party leaders, including the Clinton family, to whom Margolies is related through her son’s marriage to Chelsea Clinton.

However, she stressed that she would win the Democratic nomination on her own merits. “I’ve run two primaries in Pennsylvania, won both, and I did it without Clinton coattails,” she said, “and I intend to do that again.” Margolies has strong feelings about the fiscal issues that have divided Washington in recent years.

“I’m fairly conservative — fiscally conservative,” she said. “I think we spend too much. I would like to figure out how we can cut back.”

In particular, entitlements and defense spending have to be slashed to make any real dent in the federal deficit, she said. But government has to come together to ease the burden on disadvantaged members of society, she added.

“I was always crossing the aisle. I think people have to get together and get things done,” she said.

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