About 14 people attended the listening session at the Withee Public Library on April 21. They came to voice their concerns about a host of issues to Sen. Jesse James and Rep. Karen Hurd. James pointed out early on that they can’t control what the federal government does and that wasn’t what they were there to discuss. There was also a lot of talk about representation. Questions were asked about whether James and Hurd voted on issues the way their constituents wanted them to or if they voted the way they wanted to. Both made it clear that they are in Madison to represent their constituents and even though they might not agree on a certain issue, they will vote the way the majority of the people in their district want them to. It was also noted by James and Hurd that you can tell when someone in caucus is talking about what they believe versus what their constituents believe by whether they use “I” or “we” when speaking about an issue.
A number of other issues were brought up, including abortion, immigration, mental health, lead poisoning, and childcare. Questions were also asked about whether the state can pick up the difference if the federal cuts to programs like Head Start aren’t reversed.
The Right of First Refusal in regard to utilities was also brought up and how some utilities tend to have a monopoly in the areas they serve. This is one of the reasons the Public Service Commission exists.
It was also pointed out that grants might be available for certain things, but they are hard to find.
School vouchers and library funding were also discussed, with a show of hands from those present letting the representatives know that they don’t support school vouchers, but they do believe that funding libraries is important.