BARRON - Rep. Tom Tiffany, of the 7th District of Wisconsin, held a listening session in Barron Tuesday, April 11. Also attending was Romaine Quinn of the Wisconsin State Senate. “Listening sessions allow me to hear directly from constituents in northern and western Wisconsin about what issues are most important to them,” said Tiffany. Tiffany provided residents with a legislative update and answered any questions from the attendees. Tiffany also wanted to add, regarding the deaths of two local officers, “It’s just terrible what happened to those officers and to their families also. On behalf of the 7th Congressional District and myself, our condolences to the officers and their families.”
The Inter-County Leader reached out to come of these citizens and what was important to them.
Kevin Stevenson of Shell Lake: “My biggest concern with the veterans is, what is drawing veterans to this state? The reason I moved to Texas when I was discharged was because Texas was willing to do whatever it took to help. I moved up here because a veteran buddy tells me the veteran benefits are great here, but it seems that I must live 5-10 years here first before I can receive any kind of help. I had no clue about that till I had already moved here. I’m here with my five kids now, and stuck. If I’m going to be stuck, I want to be happy. I’m just trying to look out for the veterans the best I can.”
Dan Herscher of Birchwood: “I am here today because I am a member of the Citizens Climate Lobby. It’s a nonpartisan organization working to pass effective federal climate legislation, and I believe we need to have all our elected officials engaged in this issue, and engaging in democracy is important to me in solving the big problems. Where else do you get the chance to speak directly to your members of Congress than when he comes out to do a town hall meeting. So, this is perfect.”
David Graf of Chetek: “I have been very concerned about honesty and dishonesty in politics, where it’s directly connected to Romaine Quinn and Tom Tiffany. Quinn and I have mutual Facebook friends, and so I wrote the letter to the editor and posted it on my Facebook page. I was blocked, and a couple of days later I was magically back, allowed in questions on Quinn’s Facebook page, but all my comments were deleted. I was very disappointed by that. The following week, Tiffany, who has two official Facebook accounts, blocked me from those also. Three weeks later, I am still blocked. When I mentioned it to Tiffany, all he did was laugh.”
Kim Cobb, Aging and Disability Resource Centers of Barron and Rusk counties: “I came to the meeting to share a concern that the Meals on Wheels program, and that it needs more financial support to continue to serve the communities of Wisconsin. We have an increasing number of older adults living in Wisconsin and an increasing need for the service. The funding really hasn’t changed in a long time.”
These listening sessions are open to all constituents in Wisconsin’s 7th District. District residents may also call Tiffany’s office at 715--298-9344
