Chapter 14/Civil servant

"The Governor of Wisconsin is calling for you," a voice said when I answered the phone. A moment later the Governor came on the line and said, "Hello, this is Tommy Thompson."

Governor Thompson asked me to run for Wisconsin's 90th Assembly District, which includes Green Bay. "You and I are
the kind of men who always have to take the next step," he said.

Well, Tommy eventually took the next step and was appointed Secretary of the U.S. Department of Health. My next step was to become public information officer with state Consumer Protection at the Wisconsin Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection.

I had already run for the Assembly in 1990 against the incumbent and lost by only 55 votes. Tommy ran radio ads asking people to vote for me. And he also asked me to campaign with him at a Packer game. Tommy was a popular governor and the crowd at Lambeau Field loved him and shouted his name. They recognized me, too, and called my name.

Later, Governor Thompson gave me the pen he used to sign important consumer protection legislation. I also had the honor of meeting our current Governor Jim Doyle who sued Publishers Clearinghouse for misleading seniors and fought for the No Call list, which stops telemarketing calls. "It's nice to be on your side," I said to him. "It's nice to have you on my side," Governor Doyle responded.

I've been at the Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection since 1992 and have had fun and good luck working with newspeople around the state. I have relied on the skill and creativity of these reporters to take raw information supplied by our investigators and specialists and turn it into interesting stories that warn and educate consumers.

The Department has had more front-page consumer alerts in the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel than I can remember. Recently Mark Maley, the paper's former state editor, sent me this email: "It's been a pleasure working with you over the years. I think we've had a good relationship and you've been a big help to us."