Internal roles
1 comment for this page [ View ]Monday, February 11, 2008
By LORETTA PARK
Standard-Examiner staff
lpark@standard.net
Legislators' relatives play critical part in session
SALT LAKE CITY -- Jenny Hansen stood by the state representative, holding files she brought from his office.
Earlier that day, Ryan Wilcox sorted through a stack of surveys mailed to his representative.
Both Weber State University students are working with a relative in some capacity at the Legislature.
Wilcox, 30, is volunteering several days a week to work with his uncle, Rep. Kerry Gibson, R-West Weber.
Hansen, 24, is working for her father, Rep. Neil Hansen, D-Ogden, through the legislative intern program.
"I enjoy seeing the professional side of my dad and seeing how he works outside the house," she said.
Jenny Hansen also interns for Rep. Neil B. Hendrickson, D-West Valley City, and Rep. James Gowan, D-Tooele.
Two years ago, her younger brother, Trevor, interned for his father.
"I leave it up to (my children)," Neil Hansen said. "I set them on the path, and they have to go through the proper channels to get selected."
Trevor Hansen, 23, said he learned more about how government operates in his 45 days at the Capitol than he did from any book.
"This was a hands-on experience, and you were in the trenches working with people."
He said he plans to run for office someday. "The only thing stopping me is my age."
Jerry Howe, legislative analyst over the intern program, said both Reps. Mel Brown, R-Coalville, and Mike Noel, R-Kanab, also have relatives working as interns.
Ken Brown interns for his father, and Matt Noel interns for his grandfather.
The law allows relatives to work together as long as it is for fewer than 12 weeks, Howe said. A relative or friend of a legislator who signs up and is accepted for the intern program will not always be assigned to the relative.
"I was worried I might not be assigned to Dad," Jenny Hansen said, "but I would've taken any representative assigned to me."
Neil Hansen was also worried his daughter might not be assigned to him. He knows from experience that just because he requests a specific person doesn't mean he'll get that one as an intern.
A family friend applied and he requested her, but her qualifications sent her to work with the House leadership.
This year, there are 70 interns, with the majority coming from the University of Utah and Brigham Young University.
"I wish the intern program was stronger at Weber," Jenny Hansen said. "It's a hidden secret that you can come down here and learn about the Legislature firsthand."
Wilcox said he has always admired his uncle and wanted to see for himself how the government process worked.
He looked into Weber State's intern program, but as a father of three young children, he realized he could not take off for eight weeks and expect to keep his job. He asked Gibson if he could come down when he has a day off or a vacation day.
Interns receive a stipend of $2,400 for the eight weeks they spend at the Capitol, Howe said. They begin working the week before the session begins and work with legislators through the week after.
"My interns play a critical role for me," Gibson said.
Neil Hansen agrees. "They are really our second hands, feet and eyes."
Because legislators are expected to stay in committee meetings and on the floor, they ask their interns to meet with constituents and lobbyists, and to research issues and retrieve documents.
Hansen remembers one session when his assigned intern showed up only three times during the session. "It was a difficult session."
During a committee meeting or when it's time to vote on a bill on the floor, many times it is the intern the public first contacts. It's the intern who answers the phones, opens the mail and researches bills.
Wilcox said his first day began at 5 a.m. The first item on his agenda was to work with Nicholas Loveless, Gibson's full-time intern, to find furniture for Gibson's office.
Then they watched the opening ceremonies, took students from Gibson's district on a tour, got busy with lobbyists and then, at 2:20 p.m., decided to get lunch.
Except no one told them the cafeteria closes at 2 p.m.
"We must have had really longing eyes because the cafeteria staff was really nice and opened up and let us get some food," Wilcox said. "We took Kerry (Gibson) a piece of cold pizza."
The rest of the week was filled with town meetings, Wilcox said. He was surprised that, at the three town meetings, average attendance was 12 in a district of 20,000.
Wilcox said his uncle also once spent 11/2 hours on the phone, discussing a concern with a constituent.
"People just don't realize the effect they have."
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How nice, Rep. Hansen has found another way to waste tax payer dollars on his own family.