Week One

Back in the district after a gracious early dismissal by the Speaker of the House, Jeremy Gillam. My week was filled with being sworn in to serve as State Representative for District 94, to settling in to my new apartment, being woke up every morning at 4:35 (on the dot) by a rickety trash truck outside aforementioned new apartment, working on a piece of legislation ie...the one I pre-filed in regards to crime victim's rights--Andi's Law, watching the new governor being sworn in twice (once in the house chambers, and once on the lawn of the Capitol, going to a ball, and finally voting on a few housekeeping issues to which my seat mate whispered that I now, officially have a voting record, and finally attending my first committee meeting in judiciary. Whew! Is that a run on sentence? Oh well....hmmmm....what else? Ah yes, here's a list of where I will be serving for those of you interested:

Committees Vice Chair:JUDICIARY- HOUSE JUVENILE JUSTICE & CHILD SUPPORT SUBCOMMITTEE ADVANCED COMMUNICATIONS AND INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY - JOINT ADVANCED COMMUNICATIONS AND INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY - HOUSE JUDICIARY COMMITTEE- HOUSE AGING, CHILDREN AND YOUTH, LEGISLATIVE & MILITARY AFFAIRS- HOUSE

I am learning my way around the Capitol, meeting many different folks, but I am so pleased to say that I have received so many, "thank yous" from people who have been or have had a loved one who has been a victim of crime and are so happy to have a voice through me now. It is astonishing how many people have been victimized and have never been heard. The one thing I hope everyone realizes is they have a voice now. I will be that voice. I will fight for them. 

Also, I am pleased to be vice-chair of juvenile justice and child support subcommittee. I am a firm believer that both parents should be responsible for their children. One thing I hate to see is a non-custodial parent being taken advantage of by a custodial parent who just wants to leech off the non-custodial parent. I believe things should be fair. Both parents brought the child in to the world and one parent should not have the luxury of sitting back doing nothing except collecting a huge check while barely allowing the child to have a relationship with the non-custodial parent except for four days a month. To me it is all about the child having a good relationship with both parents.And for those who don't pay your child support....PAY IT!!!!! It isn't a difficult concept to understand. Everyone should do their part. How do I know all this? Because I had a step-mother for a few years growing up who hated me and my sister. She got mad when my dad paid child support. He did it any way, but it was always a struggle and fight for him every month to do the right thing. And he truly wanted to do the right thing because he loved me and my sister, still does. My stepmother would always say, "One day those girls of yours will be grown and gone and all you will have is me." Well, she and my dad divorced many, many, many moons ago and my sister and me are very close to our father. You don't say, huh? My point, if you are divorced, leave the kids out of it, they love both parents. 

That is all for now.