Here & Now

cc >> He began his run in the legislature in 1956. As reported in State Legislatures Magazine, Senator Risser is now the longest-serving state legislator in the country. He's announced he will run again for his 14th term in office. >> I'd like to show you a picture the Historical Society gave me for my 50 years in office. These are my four generations in the state legislature, my ancestors who all represented this area. They're four political parties, too. This is me with hair on my head. I started out in 1956. I'm a Democrat. My dad served 12 years in the State Senate. That's Fred Risser. He served as a Progressive candidate, when the progressives were in charge. My grandfather, my mother's father, Ernest Warner, after whom Warner Park was named, served as La Follette Republican. And by the way, he was the author of the State Civil Service Act at the time. My great grandfather, who lost an arm in the Civil War, came back and was elected to both the Senate and the Assembly, and served initially as a Unionist. So we have a Unionist, Republican, Progressive and Democrat. People ask me, is it true that you've changed your philosophy that much? I say, no, it's the parties that changed their philosophy. We've had the same philosophy all that time, and it's the parties that have changed. This is a gavel. I have served as president of the Senate off and on for the last actually 30 years. The president of the Senate used to be the lieutenant governor. We changed the constitution in 1979 to let one of the members of the body become president. I was the first one elected president of the Senate, and I have served whenever the democrats have been in charge, they've selected me as their president. So, since 1979, I've served over 20 years as president of the Senate, and I use this on occasion. >> That's quite a big gavel. Fifty-six years at the state capital. Lawmakers come and go. But we asked the senator what particularly in these contentious partisan times he feels he still wants to accomplish. >> People have said every time I run, "I suppose this is your last time." I say, well, it depends. It depends on a lot of things. It depends on one's health. It depends on one's interest. It depends on family situation, on a number of things. I enjoy this job. I really love it. I spend full-time, really, in the state legislature. I am within walking distance. In the last 50 years, I have never missed a legislative date. I have experience of many years, and I have an historical background that no one else has, because I can think back at the times when the process was a lot different that it is now. People keep asking me about it. I hope to influence the legislature into returning to a more civil approach.