by Paul D
…the successful exercise of power often results in political decisions that can destabilize that very power and or destroy it altogether. Majorities, alliances, and agreements are ephemeral and can change after a protracted election campaign or a day of unanticipated events. It is why Washington, DC, is a “perishable city,” as Nancy Pelosi is fond of observing.
– The Arc of Power, John Lawrence
John is a great friend of Santa Fe where he and his family spend several months each year.
John will speak with us about campaigning, legislating, the Democratic Party and the U.S. Congress. There will be time for questions.
He will also be the speaker for Indivisible Albuquerque on July 13. The event will be posted thereafter on the IA You Tube channel.
John A. Lawrence served for 38 years as a senior staff person in personal, committee and leadership offices in the U.S. House of Representatives, the last 8 years as Chief of Staff to Speaker Nancy Pelosi (2005-2013). He also served as Legislative Director and Chief of Staff to Congressman George Miller (D-CA) (1975-1993), and as Democratic Staff Director of both the Committee on Education and the Workforce (2001-2005), and the Committee on Natural Resources (1993-2000).
Upon leaving Capitol Hill in February 2013, Speakers John A. Boehner and Pelosi conferred on him the John W. McCormack Award for Excellence honoring his service to the House and to bipartisanship.
A visiting professor at the University of California’s Washington Center since 2013, John is the author of The Arc of Power: Inside Nancy Pelosi’s Speakership 2005-2019, (Kansas, 2022), which has been praised as “one of the very best accounts of the internal workings of Congress we have ever had or are likely to have” and “masterful.”[1]
John A. Lawrence
He is the author of Sherlock Holmes pastiches based on historical events and personalities.
He blogs on politics at DOMEocracy.
[1] Richard D. Brown, the Board of Trustees Distinguished Professor of History, University of Connecticut; Jean Bordewich, Washington Monthly (September, 2023)
