Notes from the West Wing
By
State Representative Garey Bies
The State Budget
One thing I’ve always strived for during my time as State Representative for the First Assembly District is encouraging residents to contact my office on issues that are important to them. To properly represent the First District it is imperative that I keep up to date on the priorities of constituents. That’s why this session I have authored legislation on such issues including establishing a trust fund to supplement the Stewardship Program, restricting phosphorous in fertilizer, the Propane Safety Act, a school district gas tax exemption and others. But feedback from the district is not always about what the people want, but also what they don’t want, like the proposal I introduced concerning the renaming of the Whitefish Dunes State Park. So for this edition of Notes from the West Wing, I thought I would provide a brief background on this legislation and where it stands today.
The legislative history of the proposal to rename Whitefish Dunes State Park to Governor John W. Reynolds Whitefish Dunes State Park actually begins during the 2003 session when the son-in-law of former Governor Reynolds, Senator Jeff Plale (D-South Milwaukee) first drafted the bill. The South Milwaukee democrat and other supporters then turned to me and Senator Alan Lasee (R-De Pere) to forward the bill to the legislature. In the latest chapter, this legislation was redrafted this session and introduced by me and Senator Lasee but with the message to its supporters that it would be up to them to garner the necessary support.
The bill to rename the park was introduced this summer in late July. It was at this time that we began to be contacted by residents and supporters of the park about their concerns with renaming the park in honor of Governor Reynolds. Among the contacts were several members of the “Friends of Whitefish Dunes State Park” that provided some background into the history of some of the land that is now part of the park and its connection to the Reynolds family. When these concerns were brought to my attention, I and Senator Lasee suspended any further consideration of the proposal by the legislature.
This legislation is another example of our representative democracy at work. If I had not been contacted by the concerned citizens, this legislation that I undertook at the request of my democratic colleague might have gone on to upset a number of people who genuinely care about Whitefish Dunes State Park. To each and every one of them that contacted my office I offer my sincere thanks. It is that type of activism that I rely upon to make sure I am properly representing the views of the First Assembly District. Together we’ve accomplished a lot of good things this and previous sessions and I look forward to continuing our work together. We’ve got the budget ahead, and that’s the priority for the Conference Committee to work out, but in the meantime, the rest of us here in the legislature continue to work on our own legislation for our constituents. If you are interested in the legislation I am working on, including what I’ve mentioned above, be sure to contact me. I can be reached by e-mail at Rep.Bies@legis.wisconsin.gov or by telephone, toll-free at 1-888-482-0001. You can also visit my website at http://www.legis.state.wi.us/assembly/asm01/news/.