I know I am not the only legislator home working late on this Sunday night. In little apartments in basements and condos, in high rises and simple hotels we work or sleep tonight. Outside it is dark and in my neighborhood the air smells of wood smoke. Like me, some legislators labor now over bills, researching, gathering co-sponsors, pulling in agencies and opposition to create consensus or compromise. Some come ready with years of experience debating legislation, they vote, work gently on their own strategies and issues and go home after the receptions and dinners at night to sleep. Look at the bills we sponsor and you can tell a great deal about us. As Democrats our bills may have other ambitions than just passage. We may have to use them to educate for a year or two, but already in my two terms I’ve seen several good ideas that were politically unpopular work their way to passage.
Tonight as the ground warms and thaws and the capitol stands like a broken shell across the street from our temporary quarters, the wheels of the process are turning faster, starting to grind in doing the real work. This is the week the debates begin.