Ron Chittum , Bottineau

It appears the Republican Party will gain control of at least one chamber of the legislative branch come November. Many are excited by this, but I am afraid they are going to be very disappointed. The truth is nothing will change; our representatives will continue to ignore their constituents, and answer to the Super Pacs, Special Interests, mega-donors and any other group who can get them elected.

Over the past 30 years I have reached out to my local and federal representatives about various issues. I have only had two who actually expressed a genuine concern and pursued a course of action on my behalf. The other times I got political lip service (good points), but no action or follow-up (no differences). I’ll give you a few examples of both.

In the spring of 2020 I contacted Governor Burgum about covid restrictions and school sports, I am sure I will hear back from his office any day now. I contacted Representative Armstrong in November of 2021 about three veteran issues I was concerned with. I heard back if I contacted them and asked about progress, but basically got the political brush back and the issues are not being pursued. I contacted Senator Cramer about the same thing a couple of weeks ago about the same issues, crickets. Finally, I contacted my 3 state representatives about a veteran/public school issue and only one followed up and took action on my behalf and tried to make a difference; thank you Mr. Thomas. The other two sent a couple of courteous e-mails, but did nothing.

No one expects a policy, regulation or law change for every issue our representatives are made aware of, but they do expect follow-up, intellectual curiosity, and a what can or can’t be done explanation. I am not sure what it will take to penetrate the bubble that seems to surround our politicians. They just don’t seem to care about the issues that their constituents face, but rather what does it take to keep them in office.

In the end it is our fault. We keep voting them back into office hoping this time it will be different. I encourage every voter to reach out to the candidates and find out what they plan to do if re-elected. Do they promise to do regular town halls during their term and not just at election time? Will they pledge to respond to voters questions and take action when possible? If not vote them out. I never have been a fan of term limits, but I am starting to believe it is the only way to proceed.