Robert L. Meeks, a retired Indiana state trooper from LaGrange, served as the Senate District 13 representative for 20 years before he retired in 2008. Editorial writer Karen Francisco talked with the former chairman of the powerful Senate Appropriations Committee about his experiences there and what he’s been doing since he stepped down.
Here are excerpts of the interview; listen to the entire interview by going to The Journal Gazette’s home page at www.journa1gazette.net, click “opinion,” then click “5 Questions for Robert Meeks.”
1 This past year was your first on the sidelines of the General Assembly. What do you miss most now that you’ve left office?
I miss everything. I miss being in the fray and the mix, the debate. I miss being on the floor of the Senate. I miss taking care of constituent problems. I miss the town meetings. I just miss the whole thing. In fact, when I sit out there, I looked through the glass, inside, rather than the inside looking out. It hurt.
2 You famously warned about budget problems years ago. What advice would you give your former colleagues now that there truly is no money?
Sen. (Luke) Kenley (R-Noblesville) is now appropriations chair. … He had a pretty good feel for what kind of financial condition the state was in. … He understands there is no money. He practiced that this last session.
3 Your successor (in District 13), Marlin Stutzman, is now seeking the GOP nomination for U.S. Senate. Did you ever consider running for statewide office?
No. I never did. When I was on the state police, I never considered going to Indianapolis for a promotion. When I came into the Senate, I didn’t consider going higher because I wanted to serve the people that I knew – the people of the area that I worked for 45 years. … I was asked – I had a Democrat friend of mine in the House of Representatives (who) said, “If you run for governor, I’ll resign my seat in the House, and I’ll be the campaign manager in the south.” I said, “No, I’m not going to do that, maybe if I was 25 years younger.” … I felt my place was there. I tried to maximize that with everybody that called.
4 How are you keeping busy now that you’ve left the legislature?
I serve on the Public Safety Academy board, which is taking a considerable amount of my time. I serve on a board of an insurance agency that’s located in Indianapolis … and I’m trying to help the people of Steuben County and get a casino up there. Not that I’m a gambler. I’m not, really, but I like 700 jobs. I mean, the average salary is $35,000; a dealer makes $50,000. Those are good jobs, and Steuben County right now doesn’t have many jobs … that’s what I’m interested in.
5 You had a 25-year career in law enforcement before you served in the Senate. What advice would you offer a young person considering public service?
My advice would be, “the water’s fine – jump in.” The only thing that I tell people when you go into public service, the only thing you have to give away is your integrity, and once you give it away, it’s gone forever. You can never get it back.
Right now, everybody has a jaundiced eye of government. They have a jaundiced eye because the people that are there don’t listen to the people they serve. They forgot who the boss is. The boss is the people that elect you. If you’re not willing to listen to them, you don’t belong in government because you are their voice.
