Soon after I moved back to Cedar Falls, I met a guy running for re-election to the State House named Bob Kressig. I was attending a fundraiser for Bruce Braley where Braley announced his candidacy for the House of Representatives, and Bob came up to me and introduced himself (as well as his lovely wife, Liz). Along with Bob I met another up and coming Democrat named Jeff Danielson.
I was personally struck by each of them because of their down to earth demeanor and genuine desire to enthusiastically represent Iowans. It didn’t take long to realize that Bob, Jeff and Bruce were honest, straight forward, passionate and intelligent men and I knew immediately that these were the kind of people I wanted to represent me in Des Moines and in Washington.
Bob and Jeff were elected in 2004 and they have been diligently, compassionately and intelligently representing their districts since. Thanks to their work, Iowa has a sound budget during these challenging economic times. They are each up for re-election in 2012 (including Bruce) and they each deserve to continue doing the work they have been doing, as it has been at the highest levels of integrity; levels of integrity that we must demand from all of our representatives, locally, on the state level and nationally.
I’ve written about Jeff and Bruce already because they are in my district while Bob is not (I moved to Waterloo in 2007) but my interests extend beyond the boundaries of streets and they reach outward to our entire state and to our entire country.
Bob Kressig stands out among candidates because he is the most like…well, most of us. He is a husband and a father and a life long Iowan and while any of the candidates can lay claim to those descriptions, Bob is a unique politician as he is most often among us at restaurants, at our favorite haunts, or walking (or bicycling) on our streets. His common sense leadership was born from that reality. He knows who we are, what we need, and what we want because he’s one of us.
Bob Kressig will come knocking at your door (if he hasn’t already) because he wants to hear your concerns, and he wants you to know that he proudly carries those concerns to Des Moines. Even if you are on the other side of the political fence, the conversation you will have with Bob will bridge the contentious gap that has risen from today’s hostile climate. Bob is like that. He doesn’t show up because he wants to convince you that he’s right, he shows up because he wants you to know that he’s listening.
In these troubled times when it seems that no one is happy with the state of politics, and everyone talks about finding better representatives, lets pause for a moment to consider those representatives who are doing a great job; people who stand proudly for us in Des Moines and in Washington. People like Bob Kressig.
Someone who knows us as well as we know ourselves.
