Delegates Speak: Issues Facing the States

Aug. 27, 2008, 4:00 p.m. EDT

Q. What serious issue in your state would you like the next president to address?

Wisconsin on Jobs

Keeping jobs in America. It is so important. We are losing jobs in Wisconsin. We have a GM plant (in Janesville) that is going to close down. And those are thousands of jobs. We also have a paper factory who has left us. We have another one that planning on closing. We also have small cheese factories that have closed. We don’t have jobs for these people to go to. You can retrain them on jobs … skills and things. But where do they go for jobs? The jobs are not there. They are going to either overseas, or just gone… That is the biggest concern. Because if you don’t have a job, you have nothing. You can’t go the store and buy the bread and milk that we need to survive, or the food. And you can’t, of course, afford mortgages. … You can’t even rent if you don’t have a job. … You have to have a job to survive in life.

– Wisconsin delegate Mary Goulding of Greenbay, secretary with the public school district interviewed by Barbara Rosewicz, Stateline.org

Maine on Energy

Energy costs are a strong issue for me because obviously we have cold winters and not a lot of people. There’s the whole discussion about being on the energy grid and how we can leverage that and get our money’s worth, but the good side is that we are uniquely positioned for wind energy and tidal energy, and I really believe Barack Obama is committed to renewable energy and not just drilling and trying to find more oil in our oceans.

– Maine delegate Jennifer DeChant, 35, of Bath interviewed by Pamela M. Prah, Stateline.org

New Mexico on Health Care

I have four children and six grandsons.Seniors need help. If they don’t get it, they are burdens to their families. In New Mexico, jobs aren’t good enough for employers to pay employees adequate health insurance.

– New Mexico delegate Mary Gail Gwaltney of Las Cruces, 73, retired interviewed by Stephen C. Fehr, Stateline.org