Part-time politicians: Many state lawmakers have other jobs
(Published Sunday, August 26, 2007 11:49:01 PM CST)
A d v e r t i s e m e n t
By Stacy Vogel
svogel@gazetteextra.com
JANESVILLE
State Rep. Mike Sheridan faces some busy days as a member of the Wisconsin Legislature and head of one of the most well known union chapters in Janesville.
"There's some days where I might start out in Janesville in the morning, I go to Madison for a couple meetings, and then I'm back in Janesville for the afternoon," he said.
But Sheridan, D-Janesville, makes his schedule work because he thinks it's important to honor the commitments he made to the United Auto Workers and to the Wisconsin Assembly, he said.
Sheridan's not the only Wisconsin legislator pulling double shifts. State government is about evenly split between so-called "full-time legislators" and lawmakers who also work other jobs.
Though legislators such as Sheridan might sometimes face criticism from constituents, several officials and political experts agreed that allowing legislators to hold outside jobs opens government to more candidates and allows lawmakers to stay in touch with the "real world" outside of politics.
Interaction with constituents-such as Sheridan's interaction with GM workers-helps a politician stay in touch with his or her voters, two local experts said.
"To represent us is to know us," said John Coleman, a political science professor at UW-Madison. "A decent way to know us is to have jobs like we have."
If voters think a legislator's job is negatively affecting his or her performance in government, they can always vote the person out of office in the next election, he said.
Allowing legislators to have outside jobs also increases the pool of potential candidates, said Larry Anderson, an American government professor at UW-Whitewater.
Wisconsin legislators make $47,000 a year plus up to $88 a day when they're required to be in Madison, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures.
"That's a good income, but these are educated people, they're hard-working, and the Legislature doesn't take up all their time," Anderson said.
"If we're not going to pay them more, we're probably going to have to accept that they're going to have jobs outside."
State Sen. Neal Kedzie, R-La Grange, decided a pay cut was worth it to focus on his policy goals. He worked as a part-time loan originator for a few years while in state government but eventually gave it up.
The move allowed him to concentrate on his pet issues of environmental reform and school violence and spend more time with his family, he said.
"I've just chosen to dedicate myself for the majority of the last 10 years to the job," he said.
But now that two of his three children have left home, he is again considering taking up a part-time job, especially as he faces the college bills those children are massing, he said.
Sheridan, on the other hand, might be moving in the opposite direction. His term as UAW president ends in June, and he will not seek reelection, he said.
He hopes to play more of a leadership role in the Assembly once he becomes a full-time legislator. But he doesn't want to be someone who legislates for the sake of legislating, he said.
"Some of the legislators, you might say they have too much time on their hands because some of the crazy legislation, some of the stuff they come up with, it causes problems," he said.
Sheridan considered leaving his position of UAW Local 95 president when he ran for the Assembly in 2004, but he decided to stay because both positions further the goal of keeping the General Motors plant in Janesville strong, he said.
His support staff in Madison and the union vice presidents in Janesville allow him to juggle both jobs, he said, and he's never on the clock for the UAW position when he's in Madison working for the Legislature.
Sheridan said his union position helps him understand the life of Janesville workers, while his spot in the Assembly allows him to fight for the GM plant.
"Part of your job as UAW president is to make sure we have a long-term future for this plant in Janesville," he said. "I've been given a lot of opportunity to work with the state to make sure we are secure in that long-term future."
