It's All Relative

LEGISLATORS It’s All Relative willingness to collaborate, the environment and Hawaii’s natural keep an open mind, put aside resources that spurred Senator Thielen to differences and listen to other Serving with a family run for office. “I was angry with the Leg- A viewpoints are qualities that islature for passing an extremely reckless come to mind when thinking of what it member presents land use law,” she says, “and then nearly takes to be a successful legislator, especially passing an even more damaging bill. I ran in today’s tense partisan environment. both challenges and because I felt these decisions did not repre- When speaking to lawmakers who share sent the community I lived in.” family ties, the cultivation of these qualities opportunities. appears to come naturally. Bipartisanship Comes Naturally About 25 sets of cousins, children, Bipartisanship is the norm for the Thiel- spouses, parents, uncles or grandchildren BY MEGAN MCCLURE ens and campaigning is a family affair. are serving as legislators. This is the first in “Two of my brothers are Democrats, one a series of articles that will profile some of is a Republican. But at the end of the these special duos around the country. Megan McClure is the senior staff assistant for day, we all put family first,” the senator NCSL’s Center for Legislative Research. says. “Everyone helps in both campaigns, Aisle-Land Hopping because we all value honest, ethical and For many Americans, politics is at the hardworking politicians.” top of their list of topics to avoid at fam- The mother-daughter pair collaborate ily gatherings. For legislators serving with at work as well. “We work together very family members, however, that is the topic well on constituent services and frequently of discussion. And, usually, it’s conflict get more than twice as much work done free, as most belong to the same party and than we would have on our own,” the sen- share similar political persuasions. ator says. In Hawaii, however, a rare pair of law- Both Thielens are attorneys experienced makers with family ties come to issues in and passionate about land use, renew- from different chambers and different able energy and environmental law. Those sides of the aisle. Representative Cyn- issues are what drove them to run for thia Thielen is a Republican; her daugh- elective office. Each wanted to have more ter Senator Laura Thielen is a Democrat. direct influence over the type of legislation The fact that a Republican representative passed, rather than litigating after the fact, mother can get along so well with her and together they make a formidable force Democratic senator daughter has “sur- in the Hawaii Legislature. prised some,” the representative says. But, “As an environmental attorney,” Repre- she adds with a smile, “Hawaii is different to pull the nomination papers for Laura to sentative Thielen says, “I had successfully from the mainland, obviously.” run again for the state Senate.” sued the state in a number of land use cases The Thielens credit their success as state Senator Thielen says that choosing to and decided a better way to make a differ- legislators to the support and encourage- join the Democratic Party wasn’t difficult, ence would be to become a policymaker. ment they have received from their family. even though her parents were Republicans. So I challenged an incumbent Democrat Many have urged and encouraged both “My parents are what I call old-school and won.” That was 25 years ago. women on their political journeys. The rep- Republicans. My mother is a strong envi- The representative is passionate about resentative describes the support her late ronmentalist and refers to herself as a Teddy renewable energy because the islands have husband—“a solid Eisenhower-type Repub- Roosevelt Republican. My father was a “so many powerful natural resources— lican”—gave his daughter, even though she small-business man, who always put his wave, sun, wind and geothermal—cou- was running as a Democrat. “My husband, employees first. So to me it seemed the best pled with the highest electric prices in the Mickey, was a good influence in our lives. party to honor those values at the time I came nation.” Her experience on the topic has And he was extremely proud of his daughter of voting age was the Democratic Party.” lled her to champion innovative tech- Laura. One of the last things he did … was It was her concern and passion for nologies. “As I have learned more about STATE LEGISLATURES 21 OCTOBER/NOVEMBER 2016 LEGISLATORS wave-energy converters, and that Hawaii’s wave climate is one of the best in the world, I ramped up my involvement in and support for this technology, resulting in two converters now operating offshore in the district I represent.” The representative also has worked on legislation to allow “industrial hemp to replace sugar in lands that now lie fallow, which the governor recently signed into law. It establishes a five-year program where farmers can grow hemp under the umbrella of the State Department of Agriculture.” “Progress with industrial hemp has taken nearly 20 years,” she says, “but now entrepreneurs will have a locally grown crop to develop into some of the 25,000 known uses and products (none of which will get you high) and sell them under the Hawaii brand.” Same but Different Beyond land use and the environment, Hawaii Senator Laura Thielen, a Democrat, serves in the Legislature with her mother, Representative Cynthia Thielen, a Republican. Partisanship, however, plays no part in their supportive and respectful relationship, says Senator Thielen has focused on agriculture, the senator. women’s rights, affordable housing and small businesses. Family Ties Around the Country “In my first year, we repealed the bad law that motivated me to run,” she says. “In my State Names Relationship second year, we prevented similar laws from Arkansas Representative Kim Hendren and Senator Jim Hendren Father/Son being passed. In my third year, we rejected Arkansas Representative Stephen Meeks and Representative David Meeks Siblings a developer appointed to head our Depart- Colorado Senator Tim Neville and Representative Patrick Neville Father/Son ment of Land and Natural Resources and Delaware Representative John Viola and Representative Andria Bennett Father/Daughter Hawaii Representative Cynthia Thielen and Senator Laura Thielen Mother/Daughter secured a balanced resource manager to Idaho Representative John Vander Woude and Senator Lori Den Hartog Father/Daughter head that department. Kansas Representative Linda Gallagher and Representative Don Hineman Siblings “Last year, we passed legislation man- Kansas Representative Ronald Ryckman Sr. and Representative Ronald Ryckman Jr. Father/Son dating testing of backlogged sex-assault Maine Senator Peter Edgecomb and Representative Anthony Edgecomb Grandfather/Grandson kits and strengthened laws against sex traf- Maryland Senator Bryan Simonaire and Delegate Meagan Simonaire Father/Daughter ficking. We also put significant resources Maryland Senator Ron Young and Delegate Karen Lewis Young Husband/Wife toward addressing homelessness and build- Minnesota Representative Brian Daniels and Representative Marion O’Neill Siblings ing affordable rental housing.” Minnesota Senator Dan D. Hall and Representative Chad Anderson Father/Son-In-Law And, just like her mother, the senator is New Jersey Senator Anthony Bucco and Assemblymember Anthony Bucco Jr. Father/Son helping to lead the Women’s Caucus. New York Senator Martin Dilan and Assemblymember Erik Dilan Father/Son North Dakota Representative Kim Koppelman and Representative Ben Koppelman Father/Son Ohio Senator Gayle Manning and Representative Nathan Manning Mother/Son Keeping Their Own Identities Oklahoma Representative Ann Coody and Representative Jeff Coody Mother/Son Maryland Senator Bryan Simonaire and Oregon Senator Doug Whitsett and Representative Gail Whitsett Husband/Wife Delegate Meagan Simonaire are the first South Dakota Representative Don Haggar and Senator Jenna Haggar Father/Daughter father-daughter combo to serve concur- South Dakota Senator Brock Greenfield and Representative Lana Greenfield Mother/Son rently in the Maryland General Assembly. South Dakota Senator Bernie Hunhoff and Representative Jean Hunhoff Brother/Sister-in-law Their supportive family ties have provided a Texas Senator Eddie Lucio Jr. and Representative Eddie Lucio III Father/Son means for collaboration that has helped the Virginia Delegate Chris P. Stolle and Senator Siobhan S. Dunnavant Brother/Sister younger Simonaire learn the ins and out of West Virginia Senator Craig Blair and Delegate Saira Blair Father/Daughter legislative life quickly. West Virginia Delegate Ron Walters and Senator Chris Walters Father/Son Sharing the same name has also chal- Wyoming Senator Phil Nicholas and Representative Bob Nicholas Brothers lenged them to create separate identities Note: The list reflects pre-election family connections. Source: NCSL, 2016 in the eyes and minds of their constitu- OCTOBER/NOVEMBER 2016 22 STATE LEGISLATURES LEGISLATORS ents and their peers in the legislature. The Simonaires were concerned not only that each would be confused for the other, but that the delegate might be dismissed as just “the senator’s daughter.” “In the campaign, there were those who attributed Meagan’s campaign success simply to having the name recognition,” says her father. “Therefore, we both knew she would have to establish her own identity and demonstrate her abilities and commit- ment to the people.” The delegate says she was conscious of the challenges and the need during her campaign to “work even harder to demonstrate that I would continue that same drive in the legislature. Some people questioned whether I should even be a delegate, because I was (in their minds) elected simply due to being the daughter of the senator.” The senator admits their concerns were overblown, however. “Actually, creating our own identities was easier than we ini- tially thought it would be,” he says.

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