A Page’s Turn Working As A Page In The Idaho Legislature Gave One Teen An Inside View Of State Government

Everybody’s heard a legislative page story. Something like: Yeah, I went to Olympia last week to be a page. They made me wear a jacket I didn’t like and a name tag that just said Page. All week I got called Page.

That’s the story some people give, but mine is 100 percent different. In Washington, a page serves for one week - just long enough to find their way around the capitol. In Idaho, we serve for six weeks, long enough to know our way around the building and experience the whole governmental process.

As I sat down to write this, I looked for a way around saying “government process,” two words that can make teens cringe. Don’t think of this article as one about government, but one about how working in the state capitol can change your life.

It changed mine.

During the first month and a half of 1997, I was able to take an inside look at how our government REALLY works. I saw how the laws were made that affect each person in my state - even teens like you and me. I also lived in a dorm (great preparation for college life), worked 40 hours a week and spent my days in the most important building in my state. It was one of the best experiences of my life.

Over Christmas Break, I moved into the dorms at Boise State University. Luckily my roommate was a girl I knew from Girls’ State. It was comforting to share my room with Amanda, someone in the same situation as me. We were hundreds of miles away from home and we were not sure what being a page would really be like. We met several other pages the night before we began our jobs. Amanda and I were relieved that they were as nervous as us! Ten of us lived in the dorms - each of us from a different area of the state, each of us with a unique personality and background. But, over time, we became extremely close; some of us were even fortunate enough to form life long bonds.

Then the big day was upon us. We eagerly went to the capitol that Monday morning, a little bit scared and rather unsure of what would come in the following days and weeks. We reported to Page Center, which we soon came to call “the closet.” It was tiny.

The building was busy as cameras were being set up for Governor Phil Batt’s State of the State Address. As he spoke of the current conditions in Idaho, it hit me that I was watching history in the making.

Thousands of people heard parts of his speech that night on the news, but I stood there and watched him deliver it. I found his statements to be clear and when he raised a question, he offered a solution.

One of the most exciting events of the first week was the Governor’s Ball. All of the pages were offered tickets and about a third of us went. Those of us who attended were thrilled to be able to attend such an important event.

The governor gave a short welcoming speech and then people hit the dance floor. I never would have guessed that Superintendent of Schools Anne Fox would be such a good dancer!

It was nice to have the opportunity to be around the many lobbyists and politicians in a social setting. They were all very nice and contributed to making it a wonderful evening. It was one of those “once in a lifetime” experiences.

Now to the serious work. I was assigned to six representatives, making sure they had copies of all the bills, daily journals and any other items to make their days run more smoothly. My other large assignment was to the Health & Welfare Committee. I helped in setting up meetings, delivering agendas and signing in guests who wished to testify.

I’ll admit that the meetings were not always interesting, but I’m not the only one who thought so. In fact, I once saw a representative, who shall remain nameless, close his eyes and “think.” It looked more like he was nodding off, but hey, what do I know?

The only bad memory I have is my own fault. One day I was passing out some papers and bumped a cup of coffee. The result: Representative Lawrence Denney had to have that pair of pants dry cleaned. I felt horrible and was extremely embarrassed, but the committee members reassured me I wasn’t the first page to do that and I wouldn’t be the last.

The thought of being homesick had crossed my mind a few times before I left for Boise, but it turned out that was never a problem. The constituents from North Idaho made me feel comfortable in the capitol.

Representative Jim Clark (Hayden Lake) gave me the responsibility of delivering selected articles, all of which related to North Idaho, to several people in the capitol each day. In doing so, I was able to read about what was happening at home.

I was also able to talk to my sponsor, Representative Hilde Kellogg, on a regular basis. She was always willing to take a few minutes to chat and she even asked my opinion a few times.

Lobbyists are an important part of the whole law-making process and they’re everywhere. Several special-interest groups also came to the capitol to give presentations in the rotunda. The perk there is we had free food almost every day. It may not sound like much to you, but Taco Bell can get pretty old after a while. Besides, the food was good.

People often expect law makers to be perfect. Even I had exceptionally high expectations of them before I went to Boise. Now I realize they are regular people. They need time to make decisions and they don’t claim to be perfect. They listen to the public to a greater extent than I ever would have imagined. If someone called to speak with a representative, a message was delivered and the call was returned.

Before my experiences in Boise, I often skipped over legislative news. Now I anticipate reading them and recognize the importance of what they say. Getting involved in the decision making does take effort. You have to have a little bit of initiative, but the rewards will be great.

In America we are fortunate to have a democracy, but we must remember that a democracy is not perfect.

It reminds me of a quote by Walter Winchell, “Too many people expect wonders from democracy, when the most wonderful thing of all is just having it.”