• May 03, 1993
• Vol. 39
• No. 17

Dan Hamburg

• 

From PEOPLE Magazine

Time for a little word association. Congress: Blue suits, bounced checks, boring speeches, big hunk. No, the last item is not a slip of the tongue. Try polling the women of Washington, who flew into a tizzy with the arrival from California of U.S. Rep. Dan Hamburg, 44. "A face to watch," pronounced the Los Angeles Times. And get this: He and his wife, Carrie, 45, are grandparents, thanks to daughter Elizabeth, 25, the youngest of Carrie's three children from a previous marriage. (Dan and Carrie have a 16-year-old son, Matt.) Hamburg, who comes to the House via Stanford University, antiwar protests and a local elected post in Marin County, is embarrassed by the fuss. "I get teased a little bit," says the dashing Democrat, "but in politics you can't be afraid of the attention." The shaggy-haired pol with a rapidly growing collection of bolo ties (he doesn't wear neckties) hopes his good deeds will match his good profile. He opposes the recently proposed military base closings, has cosponsored a bill to create national health insurance and is pursuing a variety of environmental concerns. "The reason he's in Washington has nothing to do with his looks," insists his wife. "But if it draws attention to his message, I think it's fine."