Dan Meyer will not seek re-election to 34th Assembly seat
Northwoods State Representative Dan Meyer announced late Friday that he will not be seeking re-election to the State Assembly. The Eagle River Republican has represented the 34th Assembly District since 2000.
Meyer said his 12 years of service have been very rewarding and humbling, but that it’s time to move on. “I never wanted to be a career politician,” Meyer said. “Twelve years seems like a good term limit to impose on myself.”
Meyer said that a representative has an obligation to make decisions in the best interest of the state, but also to advocate on issues of specific interest to his or her district. Meyer cites three issues upon which he believes he had the greatest impact.
“In terms of statewide importance, putting Wisconsin’s fiscal house in order was very controversial, but also very important,” Meyer said. “Eliminating a $3 billion-plus deficit without raising taxes, giving local governments and schools the tools and flexibility to continue to provide the services people expect, while avoiding mass layoffs was not easy, but it was the right thing to do.”
In terms of issues critical to the 34th Assembly District, Meyer cites his success providing resources to fight invasive species and his work on behalf of veterans as sources of greatest accomplishment during his Assembly tenure.
“When you represent the world’s largest concentration of fresh-water lakes, being a strong advocate for lake protection is just part of the job description,” Meyer said. “What we saw were local governments, volunteers and lake associations doing all they could to fight invasive species. Meanwhile, the State seemed to be taking the back seat.”
Meyer said he changed that by getting the Department of Natural Resources to make the invasive species fight a higher priority and ensure there was funding to fight invasive species and help the local units as well. “In the 2005-2007 session, we were able to provide millions of dollars to this effort,” Meyer said, adding that this was, “a small price to pay to protect our lakes.”
Working on veterans’ issues is also important for the 34th Assembly District Representative according to Meyer. “As a retirement area, Oneida and Vilas Counties are home to a very large senior population and a large number of veterans as well,” Meyer noted.
Wisconsin Department of Veterans Affairs presented Meyer with an “Iron Mike” award for “Leading the Charge for Wisconsin Veterans” for his work on the 2005-2007 Wisconsin Biennial Budget. “My staff and I worked very diligently serving these constituencies, and I worked very hard to protect the veterans’ trust fund from being raided.” Meyer said.
Meyer and his family live in Eagle River. Although he does not know for sure what the future holds, they plan on remaining in Eagle River for the foreseeable future.
While several local potential candidates for the seat have expressed interest, none have officially declared their interest as of yet.
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