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COLUMN |
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE |
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State Rep. Jesse White
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To: Editor
From: State Rep. Jesse White, D-Washington/Allegheny/Beaver
RE: Learning to walk; life after the
first term
I
have never been so glad to see an Election Day come and go in my life.
Don’t get me wrong -- I love campaigning. I love knocking on doors and talking
to people to get their perspective on things; I truly feel that I am a better
public servant as a result. But what I don't like about campaigning is that it
takes time away from governing. And with so many issues facing Pennsylvanians,
I need every minute I can get to work on solutions.
As I wrap up my first term in office, I have been spending less time reflecting
on the past and more time thinking about what lies ahead.
So much of my first term was spent getting my feet wet, both at home and in
Harrisburg. There is literally no instruction manual for this job, so it took
some time to get my district offices set up and get new staff trained. It took
time to become familiar with all of the small communities I represent, and the
people who are so important to them. It took time to learn how to navigate the
floor of the House of Representatives, in both a literal and political sense.
Now, I’m surely not going to pretend like I’ve learned everything there is to
learn in two years, but I am absolutely ready to enter my second term with more
confidence in my abilities and a clearer agenda for what I would like to
accomplish. I am planning on taking a more vocal and aggressive role in policy
discussions at the statewide level to make sure that the concerns of my
constituents are being met on issues like property taxes, health care and job
creation.
Basically, I have spent the past two years learning to crawl, and now I’m ready
to walk. I may fall down a few times along the way, but I’m not going to allow
the prospect of a couple of skinned knees to keep me from continuing to grow as
a legislator.
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