By State Representative Rob Nosse
This month I thought I would be a little more lighthearted and give you some insight into what my workdays are like. I am also at a midpoint moment where the long session and the special transportation session are behind me. The changes I must make/contemplate to Medicaid in light of the one big, beautiful bill that passed this summer are not ready or even fully vetted, and it is too early to talk about the short session that starts in February.
So here is a what a day in my life is like. Please know it is not as much campaigning and fundraising as some people imagine, though there are seasonal moments where I am doing a lot of those things in spring and fall of even numbered years.
Unlike most of my colleagues, I do not have to hold down another job. I was able to stop working at the Oregon Nurses Association during the pandemic. Frankly, I was not able to do this job and that job at the same time. The work of both was too much—though before the pandemic I could work part-time and do this state representative job in a part-time way between sessions.
This is for sure my full-time job when the legislature is in session—six months in odd years and five weeks in even years. I am in Salem every day of the week. I am mostly reading, writing and researching bills while participating in meetings. There are many meetings, most so I can hear concerns and ideas or validate research. I also participate in committees and, in the case of the committee I chair, I have agenda management and planning responsibilities. Then, of course, there is voting on bills and the occasional speech.
By the way, most state legislatures in the US are considered part-time. Only 10 states have a full-time “professional legislature.” The rest have legislative seasons which we call sessions that pay a part-time wage. But the job when done well is hardly part-time, even for those for whom it might be part-time. Some of my colleagues even work during the session to keep their businesses afloat.
In the interim, the job is not that much different from the actual session, except we don’t have floor debates or committee meetings, except once a quarter.
A typical day or week during the interim looks like this: I start my day around 5 am or sometimes at 5:30. I wake up with two cups of coffee and I read the news—both The Oregonian and The New York Times. I still get real newspapers.
Then it’s off to email hell. Email is a great modern communication vehicle, but it does not make me more efficient. It means I just get more to do. I get a lot of email, and it is hard to keep up with all of it. I have help and there is some triage but in general I am emailing from 6:30 until about 9:30 in the morning. If I have a report to read or a new topic to investigate I’ll set aside time in the morning to do that work.
Then I start having meetings with all kinds of people around 10 or 10:30 and throughout the rest of the workday. I prefer to take these in various coffee shops around SE Portland for a half hour at the time, though some of them are virtual. I try hard to take the meeting especially if you are an advocate who works in my policy areas, or you are one of my constituents.
I also check in with other legislators on all kinds of issues I am working on and hearing about. Then there are tours and site visits. I always say legislators like field trips, too. I go see a business or a problematic street block where the camping has gotten out of hand or a new wing in a hospital or a new restaurant that people are raving about.
Then there are events. I go to a lot of events mostly in the evenings to raise money for organizations or charities, and occasionally for other politicians too. Sometimes I can even get my husband to come along. He is a pretty good sport about all this and also enjoys politics and helping out.
I also find ways to fit returning phone calls and responding to emails along the way. I usually drink two espressos a day along with my morning coffee.
The weekends tend to be lighter, but often I am catching up on email that I just could not get to during the week. I am also writing my newsletter.
Pretty much every day is like what I just described. It is a little like being in college with constant studying, writing, thinking, talking and hanging out, though the hanging out I do these days is a bit more formal and consequential.
While it can be a lot of work, I like being a state representative. I like learning about things and problem solving. It has also made me a better writer and public speaker. If only the direction our federal government was/is taking was a lot different. It would allow for more job satisfaction but that is a topic for a different column.
