Senator Frerichs-District Office Week Four

This week was relatively quiet in the office. I really hope the Senator comes to a decision regarding his Springfield office this next week. I have worked hard to make sure I am able to take on the position if offered. All minor issues which needed to be addressed related to the position have been taken care of. At this point, I need to sit back and await his decision. He is still thinking of hiring an individual to staff his Springfield office. However, he states he would like to have me in Springfield regardless to work on other issues which would need attention. I am confident all will come to a conclusion by the end of next week.

With the Senator out of the office all week the office was quiet. Throughout the week I decided to tidy up the office and close-loose ends on a variety of activities. Previous interns who no longer work for the office had a series of open constituent files. I went through the files comprised by the former interns and followed up with constituents by telephone and email in order to reach a conclusion regarding their specific requests. Once I had completed sorting through the material I began to work on a wide-variety of cases which still required our offices attention.

Serving the State Senator our office must not be biased in the way we approach constituent casework. All must receive the necessary attention. If an office accused of wrongdoing presents evidence in their favor we must take the time to sort through the information in an effort to clearly offer the constituent a conclusion whether or not it is positive. I state this because I had contacted a state organization earlier the previous week regarding material for a constituent case and information was dropped off to me this week and lacked what I had requested. Therefore, although the evidence brought to our attention seemed appropriate I placed a call once again to ask for the information I had specifically requested. Constituent work can be tough at times especially if individuals are difficult to deal with or expect an immediate response. However, the conclusion to constituent casework can be rewarding in many instances.

I also drafted a variety of letters to constituents regarding the state of their cases. Constituent cases can necessitate a lengthy process. The best one can do is be patient. I am excited for the short weekend which I have in the office next week. Too, all the minor activities of the office have been taken care of. Thus, I will have to strive to create work for myself this coming week which I believe will take the form of further work and investigation into constituent casework.