Moonlighting Legislators

A portrait of a Politician perhaps looking for a higher office?

State Sen. Jon Erpenbach (D-Middleton) is not afraid of part-time work...

For two months, he's been stocking shelves -- Aisle 18, specifically -- on weekends at the Woodman's grocery store on Madison's east side. He usually works the second shift, earning a still-on-probation wage of $10 per hour.

[...]

Although he lives closer to the Woodman's store on Madison west side, "That's where the (job) opening was." And, he said, he still meets many constituents restocking Fritos, Doritos and chips. "I end up doing a lot of legislative work there."

Why the part-time job, when state senators are paid more than $47,000 a year and get a tax-free expense stipend for days they work in the Capitol? He said he was paid much more as a former Senate staffer 10 years ago, "so I'm still catching up."

This is actually a rather sly piece of political sidewalk theater. I don't think many people in Middleton, one of the wealthier places in the state, care all that much if their state Senator is a n average "working man," but it can't hurt if you want to appeal to a broader spectrum of voters down the road.