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In this business, it is not uncommon to receive dozens of political press releases in a day, especially in an election year. It's always good to see the elected officials in the flesh who are behind all those press releases and sound bites.
Last week, it was good to be able to sit down and interview Senator Ron Johnson, who was in the area and stopped by for an interview. You can always get a better feel from meeting an elected official in person instead of reading their positions on a piece of paper. Johnson was an easy interview because he knew his stuff and was willing to answer any question posed to him without dodging. As an added bonus, Johnson is on the oversight committee for the U.S. Postal Service, so I was able to share the frustration newspapers across the state are having with delivery of newspapers.
I was thinking back to how many politicians I've interviewed in the 20+ years in this job. Many have been very accessible, while others have not.
I've never met Senator Herb Kohl, who has been a ghost to this area. I really can't even tell you if he's ever been to Iowa County. Senator Russ Feingold was always in the area and never missed a chance to stop at the newspaper. I've interviewed 3rd District Congressman Ron Kind several times, but he had this knack of only showing up every two years, right around election time. Then again, the sprawling district runs from Lacrosse to Dubuque. Iowa County was kind of hanging to the lower side of the district.
Iowa County is now going to be back on the 2nd Congres-sional District after redistricting, which I think will bring a congressperson to the county on a frequent basis. When we were in this district before, Congressman Tammy Baldwin and Scott Klug before her, spent a lot of time in the county. People got to know them both very well.
Our state elected officials have always paid attention to this area, which they should. Senator Dale Schultz will return a phone call within minutes, Rep. Howard Marklein is usually in the area a couple times a week. The late Rep. Steve Hilgenberg spent so much time at our office, I used to tell him we should get a desk for him. Rep. Steve Freese also spent a lot of time working the district.
Regardless, if you agree with an elected officials' positions or party, I think Iowa County has always been fortunate that our elected officials remember us, even after the election is over.