The Foreign Service Journal, October 2008

A week later the governor swore me in. A couple of days later I was back in Concord to fill out various forms, including a medical history, and obtain ID badges, a parking permit and state representative license plates, along with a ton of reading material. At least no typhoid, yellow fever or other shots were required — not even one against exposure to bloviation. On-the-Job Training I had only a vague notion of what being a state representative would entail, but had heard that it was not a full-time job. After the legislative ses- sion began in January, I quickly learned that, to the contrary, I would have to put in many hours to do the job right. In my first week I spent 54 hours attending committee hearings and full sessions of the House, com- muting to and from Concord, and responding to constituent requests. As I learned the ropes, the hours I put in became fewer — about 40 dur- ing the last week of January, for exam- ple. And I enjoyed my new occupa- tion. I got to know a lot of people rep- resenting a cross-section of New Hampshire residents; got an educa- tion about a wide variety of issues; and learned what it was like to be a part of the legislative process. And I got paid — a whopping $100 a year. I served on the Executive Offices and Administration Committee, which has responsibility for legislation affecting all the offices of the state’s executive branch and commissions established by the governor. Three major issues the committee dealt with during my term were an overhaul of the state’s retirement system, an audit of the medical board, and regulation of gambling enterprises. Bills touching on foreign policy are rare in the legislature, but one did come before ED&A (as it is generally known). I found myself testifying before my own committee on a bill calling for the retirement system to divest itself of securities from any entity having business ties to — of all places — Sudan. My years in the Foreign Service helped me in my political incarnation. To win office I had to put together a functioning organization and then convince voters that my ideas were sound. In the legislature I have to analyze issues and put forward ideas or arguments on how to deal with them. And to pass a piece of legisla- tion, I’ll need to create a negotiating stance compelling enough to achieve broad-based support from different, sometimes opposed, elements in both the House and the Senate. I was pleased to find that there was no partisanship in the committee’s work (unlike on the floor of the House). Instead, there is a refreshing, good-humored, bipartisan collegiality. After I had listened to debates and voted on hundreds of bills, participat- ed in dozens of committee hearings, and worked in conference commit- tees, the 2007-2008 legislative bienni- um ended in June. In the New Hampshire House, members can introduce new bills only in the first half of the biennium. Because I arrived on the scene in its second half, I had no opportunity to initiate any legislation. As the weeks passed, I began collecting in my mind statewide problems I believed needed to be addressed and could be reme- died in part or in whole by new laws. My first six months in the House have taught me how to go about doing that. But first, I’ll have to be re-elected. It will be more difficult to run this time. I’ll not have much help from the party, which will be immersed in work to elect Barack Obama. I’ll be just one of about 400 Democratic can- didates running for the House, so resources from the party and the Committee to Elect Democrats will be slim. I’ll have to create my own fliers and other materials. And there won’t be any Obama volunteers to give me a hand canvassing or carry signs at “visibility” opportunities. Still, I’ve got a new campaign man- ager in mind (Jim will be running for his own re-election) and will gather friends together to give me a hand. And I’ve got most of my lawn signs resting in our garage, ready to be planted once again. n 54 F O R E I G N S E R V I C E J O U R N A L / O C T O B E R 2 0 0 8 The governor had a practiced politician’s wide smile, while I looked as if I suddenly realized my fly was open.