Arizona State Capitol Executive Tower“It is like drinking from the fire hose.”
That is how Tucson state Representative-elect Todd Clodfelter, a Republican, described the three-day legislative orientation program.
Clodfelter and other freshman lawmakers learned in the crash course how to file bills, how to speak on the floor and how to find out when committee meetings and floor sessions take place.
“The protocol, the tradition of learning procedures - I won’t say overwhelming, but it certainly is a mass of information to try and consume,” said Clodfelter.
He said it is nothing like he expected, but he found out the key lies in the professional staff, who are there to help.
“We represent the people, but they are the nuts and bots of what happens here at the state Capitol,” he said.
Protocol and learning how to file a bill are important parts of the orientation process, but so is finding your new office.
Representative-elect Kirsten Engel, a Democrat, had to get buzzed into the hallway where her office is because she still didn’t have her ID. It was a common problem during orientation.
Engel and Clodfelter are seatmates, representing the same mid-town Tucson district. But they stand out among their peers.
First, they are both freshmen. Second, they represent two different parties. Only two other legislative districts in the state are represented by both a Democrat and a Republican.
Neither is worried about working with a partner from the other party.
“I think it will work fine. Part of my campaign effort was to identify that I would represent all the people, not just a core, and I think we need kind of a balance from Pima County,” Clodfelter said.
Engel said so far the relationship is working well.
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