I was very surprised to learn that Rep. Sue Jeskewitz had announced that she would not be a candidate for the 24th District seat in the Assembly this fall. She will have served for 12 years, is 66 (although she doesn't look more than 55) and apparently has just decided it is time to stay home. She is part of a 'political' family, so I know this decision could not have been taken lightly.
Some of her positions caused me angst as readers know. I have heard others refer to her as a RINO (Republican In Name Only) and there have been those times when I felt that way as various issues came up and decisions were made. I am obviously more conservative than she has been. I understood that and still made visits to her offices in Madison whenever I was part of a lobbying group. She and her staff were always very considerate although it is difficult to tell what the true position of virtually any politician is by simply visiting their office and chatting on talking points for 5 to 10 minutes.
There are probably several people out today with nomination papers seeking signatures that will enable them to run. There may be some behind the scenes activity that has already led to a 'chosen one' on the Republican side. I am not privy to any of that information. There are certainly those in the Democrat party that are working feverishly to secure the best possible candidate since this seat had been quite safe for Rep. Jeskewitz.
I do hope that we will be given a candidate for whom we can vote that is decidedly conservative. The Assembly must stay Republican if we conservatives are to have any hope of keeping the state on something even remotely resembling the straight and narrow we would prefer. Can you imagine the damage that would've been done in the past couple of sessions if both the Senate and the Assembly had been under Democrat control with Governor "taxalot" in office?
