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Hagan welcomed, told to enjoy her first hours of being senator
AP Photo
Kay Hagan and her husband, Chip, participate with Vice President Dick Cheney in a ceremonial swearing-in, as is custom.
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Published: January 7, 2009
WASHINGTON
Everyone had advice for North Carolina's newest senator, Democrat Kay Hagan, as she was sworn in yesterday.
Her North Carolina colleague in the Senate, Republican Richard Burr of Winston-Salem, told her to take time to enjoy her first 48 hours in office. U.S. Rep. Mel Watt, a Democrat who represents North Carolina's 12th District, advised her to "be patient" as a freshman learning to navigate a town that favors seniority.
And, Hagan said in an interview, Sen. Bob Casey of Pennsylvania, sitting in the Senate chamber, told her, "Just watch me."
Hagan defeated Republican Elizabeth Dole in the November general election to become North Carolina's junior senator.
To take the oath of office, Hagan was escorted down the aisle of the Senate chamber by Burr and Sen. Barbara Mikulski, D-Md., the longest serving woman currently in the Senate. Hagan is one of 17 women in the 100-member Senate.
As her family watched from the gallery above, Hagan said she was "humbled" to join the Senate.
"You'd better believe I'm going to work hard in this job," she said in her cramped, temporary office in the basement of a Senate office building after the swearing-in ceremony.
Hagan enters the Senate at a time of extreme economic turmoil. The economy will likely dominate the agenda in Washington this year, as Congress and incoming President Obama prepare an economic-stimulus package. "I am anxious to see what President-elect Obama is putting together right now, because the people of North Carolina are hurting," Hagan said.
On the first day of a six-year term, Hagan spent much of the afternoon greeting a steady stream of North Carolinians who stopped by her office to congratulate her.
"This week is stressful enough, and I'm sure she can't wait for it to be over," Burr said after a short visit to Hagan's office. But she should "enjoy it now while it lasts," he said.
Hagan was not the only new N.C. legislator sworn in yesterday. Larry Kissell, a Democrat from the 8th District, joined the House after unseating Republican Rep. Robin Hayes.
Kissell, a former mill worker turned social-studies teacher, spent the first part of the day greeting North Carolinians in his new office.
Though his computer was not yet set up and the bookshelves were mostly bare, he had already decorated his office with posters featuring positive quotes from cyclist Lance Armstrong, Julius Caesar and others, which he brought from his high-school classroom.
Kissell, who graduated from Wake Forest University in 1973, also put up a framed poster commemorating a victory by the Wake Forest men's basketball team over North Carolina.
In an interview after his swearing-in, Kissell said he was excited to join Congress even in a time of economic turbulence.
"Being part of this great moment in democracy is very poignant for me," he said. "To be part of this process at a time when our nation is facing so many challenges, it's even more important to me to be here."
■ Sean Mussenden can be reached at 202-662-7668 or smussenden@mediageneral.com.
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