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In a time of tense partisan clashes, Capitol Hill has a trusted leader in Jane L. Campbell, president and CEO of the U.S. Capitol Historical Society.

Campbell's focus is far from skirmishes but rather on the forces and figures that filled the halls of Congress, keeping memory alive in the spirit of Clio, the mythical muse of history whose bust adorns Statuary Hall.

The only woman ever elected mayor of Cleveland, Campbell knows the demands of campaigning and elected office.

In her visibly nonpartisan position -- one of the last left in Washington -- she reaches out to include all lawmakers in society activities.

While Campbell, 72, knows the lively halls -- and hideaways -- she announced her retirement later this year.

"It's time to pass the torch," she says in an interview on her storied career's capstone. "I want to say yes to my daughter," a doctor who just gave birth to a baby girl.

Even as the nation approaches its 249th birthday in a volatile mood, Campbell says the founders' principles on parchment can long endure.

It's her job to bring the past up to the present, with a jolt of optimism and faith in the world's oldest democracy. George Washington laid the cornerstone of the Capitol, and Abraham Lincoln oversaw building the lofty dome.

"The Declaration of Independence is our North Star," she said. Pointing to the creamy Capitol, she adds, "This is where the country goes to argue, and it's not (always) a straight line."

"The majority honestly believe they're doing the best they can for the nation," Campbell says.

The Declaration signers and Constitution framers argued often and settled on flaws that later came to light -- and a fratricidal fight -- in the Civil War over slavery.

"I leave more determined than ever to express and share those (American) values," Campbell says, speaking of freedom, rights and values that prevailed over time's river.

Starting out in city and state politics, Campbell also advocated for the Equal Rights Amendment back when it almost became law.

There's rarely a dull day in Campbell's work. She organizes webinars with historians, tours under the dome and a biannual "Welcome to Congress" address.

Pulitzer Prize finalist David Greenberg, biographer of the late civil rights hero and congressman John Lewis, gave this year's keynote.

Last fall, the society held teacher workshops on the Civil Rights Acts in Springfield, Illinois, partnering with the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum.

In six years at the helm, Campbell revitalized the society's place in the latest history trends and findings.

"Jane Campbell was the right person in the right place at the right time," Norman Ornstein, retired scholar at the American Enterprise Institute, observes. "She brought political savvy, administrative skills, a deep appreciation of history and the constitutional role of Congress."

Campbell cheerfully lets people know that while the society is chartered by Congress, it's funded through private donations.

So it's not subject to cuts by President Donald Trump. Campbell was sorry to see Carla Hayden, librarian of Congress, fired overnight. The library and the Supreme Court are neighbors.

Campbell values original theater, co-commissioning a drama on the contested election of 1876.

"Electionland" centers on a deal between North and South to end federal Reconstruction in the former Confederacy. Rutherford B. Hayes, the winner, is bitterly remembered by Black generations. Authored by Jean Bordewich, the play was presented in the Russell Senate Office Building.

Campbell led a panel on a play I wrote, "Across the River," about the intriguing Aaron Burr, the vice president who shot Alexander Hamilton in the famous 1804 duel.

Campbell's office aptly has a place in history.

With a commanding view of the Capitol, the society's rooms once housed the Warren Commission. A photo displays the men who probed John F. Kennedy's 1963 assassination, a tragic turning point.

Earl Warren, then chief justice, concluded with the panel that the assassin acted alone.

Campbell has an open Midwestern manner and keeps her home in Cleveland.

"I never became a Washingtonian," she says, though she previously acted as former Sen. Mary Landrieu's (D-La.) chief of staff.

In Ornstein's words: "Jane will be missed."

(The next free society webinar is Thursday, June 26, at noon, on a new biography of abolitionist Sen. Charles Sumner. The link to register: capitolhistory.org/society-events/charles-sumner-conscience-of-a-nation.)

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The author may be reached at JamieStiehm.com. To find out more about Jamie Stiehm and other Creators Syndicate columnists and cartoonists, please visit creators.com.

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