Over Christmas dinner with my family, my father looked at me and said,
“So what does the politician do now?” That question and variations of
it are becoming very familiar to me these days.

I told him that one of the things I will be doing is staying on top of
and commenting on the issues that are important to north Iowa. I
mentioned that with only two weeks to go for the start of the Iowa
legislature, I am anxious to compare campaign promises with actual
votes taken and legislation introduced. We talked about letters to the
editor that could be written and other things that I could do to keep
my name out there and to hold our elected officials accountable. I
mentioned this weekly column as one of the ways to do this.

And as we talked, my father and I agreed that these were things that
everyone should be doing. We elect our officials at least partly based
on what we hear during the campaigns. We then expect them to represent
us and our interests, to take their oath of office seriously, and to
not necessarily follow the party line if it isn’t in their
constituents’ best interests. While voting is our duty, it is also our
duty to make sure that we get what we are voting for. My dad and I
agreed that often politicians get caught up in doing what their party
wants them to do as opposed to what the people want them to do. We
agreed that our government is too far removed from the people and that
it is a problem that needs fixing. My father and I often argue
politics. We usually have to agree to disagree—but on that day we found
agreement. Perhaps our conversation that day was a gift to the rest of
our family.

We should all be watching our elected officials to make sure they truly
represent us, not their own or their party’s special interests. A good
example of this happened a couple of weeks ago. Educators and business
leaders around north Iowa presented their concerns and ideas to
legislators in a “Jobs Summit” held at North Iowa Area Community
College. I was surprised when I noticed that Senator Gaskill was
missing from the list of legislators who attended. I remember one of
his campaign ads said he wants north Iowa to be a “haven for good
jobs.” It seems to me that he would have wanted to attend; it would
have been a perfect place to discuss that “haven” concept. Senator
Gaskill will get a letter from me asking why he wasn’t in attendance.
Perhaps I should ask him for his plan to create this haven.

In order to be politically active or even just actively engaged in
one’s community, one needs to pay attention to what the government is
doing. Get involved in the decisions being made and don’t be shy to
voice your opinion. Write letters to the editor, attend city council
meetings, and compare the campaign promises you heard to votes and
actions taken by your representatives and senators in the upcoming
legislative session.

We need to do these things to remain true to the idea of “government of
the people, by the people, and for the people.” Without the people’s
active participation, those words become an empty shell, just something
you memorize in Civics class.