Chris Swedzinksi and Gary Dahms made their final stop in Tracy last Thursday — at least as politicians.
The two Republican legislators were in town for their final town hall meeting, as they are both stepping away from state politics after 16 years serving the district in St. Paul.
Tracy City Administrator Jeff Carpenter presented the political pair with plaques to show the City’s gratitude for their public service to rural Minnesota.
“There are a lot of people in Tracy, and Lyon County, that appreciate what you’ve done for us, making sure that we’re not forgotten,” Carpenter said. “Sometimes little cities like Tracy, Ghent, Minneota, we get forgotten a little bit. Not everybody agrees on everything all the time — nor will we ever — but we really do appreciate you thinking about us when you are doing your duties.”
In turn, Dahms took a moment to thank Tracy for always keeping he and Swedzinski abreast of what’s going on here in terms of the City’s goals, wants and needs.
“You folks have always been very helpful to us; we learn a lot when we do these town hall meetings, getting a good idea of what’s happening in all the communitiies, things that are needed … when you can grow these friendships, it helps us a lot to know we’re getting good information.
Dahms called this past session an interesting one. A bonding bill did pass, but it didn’t include Tracy. He said while the Senate typically has a few days to vet a bonding bill before it goes to the floor, that wasn’t the case this session.
“This year, the bonding bill was turned loose to the public at 3 o’clock, and we didn’t know until about 10 minutes to 3 what was in it,” he said. “It was already printed, so we really didn’t have an opportunity to defend our smaller communities.”
