A Crofton Online Exclusive Klocko Thinks About Being Governor, But Family Comes First
Anne Arundel County Councilman John Klocko III says he has thought about being county executive, governor, a congressman, and even President of the United States. He was quick to add, however, that his family comes first, and that any further run for political office would have to wait until his children are in college.

Crofton Online recently spent several hours with Mr. Klocko discussing the School Board dispute, his political future, and how he handles the demands of raising children in a family where both parents have demanding careers.

Klocko, who has three daughters, all currently attending public schools in the county, told us he already finds that the "time you spend with the family can be sucked up by this office, never mind Congress or county executive," noting that John Gary "works seven days a week, sixteen hours a day, if not longer" and that he himself already works similar hours. He added, however, that since he works in Crofton, "I can make it work with my family and my career" and still manage "getting the kids on the school bus and being there if they are sick."

When thinking about higher political office, Mr. Klocko said, "It's first off, do you think you can do a better job, then next off, can you convince 51% of the people that you can do a better job? And so there's always a level of egotism that plays into this." In describing his political philosophy, he said that he has never considered himself an "ideologue" but has "found that fundamental principles have been elevated in my life so much higher than I ever anticipated they would be. [This includes] freedom from government infringement, the right to use property, to own things, to do business, to be in your home and to do things with a certain level of freedom. I've found that freedom, just that word freedom, has got such a higher level of importance to me than it did five years ago, four years ago, it amazes me." John Klocko's wife Karen has a thriving dental practice in Crofton. We asked him if either of them had considered staying at home with the children. "We've fortunately chosen careers that allow us flexibility and we work close to home. She is a half mile from the house. I'm one and a half miles from the house ... We save big commutes to Baltimore, Washington, or even Annapolis. We save at least an hour to two hours a day that's not productive right there. Karen ... has office hours three days a week, so she takes Thursdays and Fridays off, and dedicates that pretty much to the girls, trying to keep the family things running along. She's got the best of all worlds, or the worst of all worlds - the ability to have a professional career and still have time set aside for a family. He did say, though, that Karen has "points of frustration. I think women in particular have a hard time, you know, the guilt complex, but I know and she knows that ... her identity as a dentist is important. She loves dentistry. She would go crazy staying home with the kids." We had been told that Karen has had a liberalizing effect on John. Does he agree? Not exactly. He prefers the word "moderating" rather than "liberalizing." "I think frequently my wife coincides with the process of maturing, and understanding that there are very few right and wrong answers, only better and best answers, and they also have their down sides to them. Earlier in life I think I saw things more black and white, right and wrong. As you get older and have more experiences you realize that the best answer is hopefully the one that you arrived at." In answer to a question, Klocko told us that he enjoys "a real diversity" of music, including cool jazz, country music, instrumentals, and the hits of the sixties. "We have a lot of music at our house. My daughter takes music lessons. She's in shows. Everyone likes to sing in the shower." In discussing the planned regional shopping center at Hunter Mills, he expressed reservations about people's seeming obsession with shopping. He said there is a statistic somewhere about people spending more and more of their recreational time shopping. "I think that's a very sad commentary if it's true," he added. "I get a little bit torn between what I think are socially productive recreational activities and socially nonproductive recreational activities." Klocko is running for re-election to the Anne Arundel County Council. Click here for part one of our interview. Back to Crofton Online