Public Servant Warren Lotsberg Announces Early Retirement

Warren Lotsberg of NorthWestern Public Service announces his plan to retire early according to Roger Kasa at the Huron Daily Plainsman. Lotsberg, Government Affairs Director for the utility company is quoted as saying he has no immediate plans except that he "believes he still has one more part-time job left in his life."

I certainly hope so.

I deliberately and respectfully choose the words "Public Servant" to describe Mr. Lotsberg. He is one of hundreds of people who take up part-time residence in Pierre during the legislative session to represent their interests before lawmakers.

Being a lobbyist is an important job. No one expects legislators to be an expert on every subject (although after reading some of the statements from some of our current legislators, being somewhat knowledgable on ANY subject would be nice). Legislators must rely on lobbyists to provide accurate information to help them make decisions.

Credibility is key to being a successful lobbyist. Mislead or lie to a legislator and your career as a lobbyist vanishes - faster than a true South Dakota Conservative at a local chapter meeting of the Americans for Democratic Action (ADA).

And credibility may be the best adjective to describe Mr. Lotsberg and his career: Kasa reports Lotsberg has been working with legislators on issues important to NWPS for 25 years. That translates into Mr. Lotsberg providing honest and reliable information to all legislators, even to those who may have eventually opposed his company's position or voted to kill one of his proposed amendments or bills, for a quarter of a century. Quite an accomplishment and standard for public service.

Mr. Lotsberg has a warm personality and demeanor with almost as many jokes as he has smiles. In no time he can have you laughing so hard that your sides start to hurt.

Mr. Lotsberg definitely is one of the good guys and I am glad he plans to stick around.