Chapter Two B: The Congresswoman

“Congresswoman Stamos, do you plan to challenge Senator Lugar for his seat this year?” The reporter was the typical aggressive fresh college graduate that seemed to come out of the woodwork as the year’s campaigns started to awaken. Each one hoped to attach him or herself to a serious candidate who would make a run to upset the balance in either the house or senate. If they were lucky they could attach themselves to the campaign of a dark horse candidate for president and follow him or her all the way to the White House Press Corps.

Pol Stamos hesitated before answering the young man. He so hoped for a scoop she almost gave him one. But that would not be playing the game fairly.

“It is not our policy to discuss possible campaigns before they are actually decided upon,” she said. “I’m a congresswoman and I intend to serve the people I represent as long as they keep electing me. I will, however, state that someone in our party needs to step up to the challenge of helping Senator Lugar retire and I will certainly do my part to see that it happens.” She smiled winningly. There. She hadn’t said no. She hadn’t said yes. She’d established a passion for creating a new incumbent. That should have covered all the bases. “One last question, Miss Rowe?”

“Thank you Congresswoman,” the woman from the Indianapolis Star began. She was impeccably dressed in a grey wool suit with conservative white blouse and sensible flat shoes. She looked to be in her mid-forties. Just Pol’s age. And as sharp in her questions as she was in her appearance. “You’ve been quite critical in the past over the Port of Indiana management, accusing it of everything from poor labor-relations to environmental disruption.”

“They do offer a lot of targets,” laughed Pol.

“Is it true,” continued Miss Rowe as if not interrupted by the titters in the press room, “that your bill to tighten environmental controls on the Great Lakes is targeted at the Burns Ditch Harbor that you’ve been so critical of?”

“No. The fact is that in spite of making significant progress over the past twenty years in cleaning up the lakes, we are still open to catastrophic environmental events through our lack of regulation. If you will read the bill carefully, you will discover that it expands existing agencies with sweeping authority to enforce new and existing laws regarding dumping, human waste treatment, shipping, industry, and fishing. This is the largest body of fresh water in the northern hemisphere. We have a responsibility to maintain it for future generations. I would like to note that this is an international matter and that our legislation is approved by our neighbors to the north and has been matched with equivalent legislation in the Canadian Parliament. While the legislation may affect the management of the Port of Indiana, it is certainly not targeted at them.”

“Then you aren’t specifically addressing the resumption of winter dredging at the Port?” Miss Rowe stuck her question on just before Pol could switch gears and close the conference. This was too much.

“I’m sorry, that’s all the time for questions that we have right now.” Nina Patterson, Pol’s chief of staff stepped into the breach before Pol could respond to the question. “The Congresswoman has an important vote coming up on the House Floor and we don’t want her to miss it. Thank you all very much.” She ushered Pol off the dais and out of the press room as quickly as she could before Pol turned on her.

“When did they start winter dredging and why wasn’t I informed of this at once?” Pol demanded as soon as they were through the staging room door. A general shuffle was taking place in the press room as reporters from Iowa changed places with those from Indiana for their weekly press briefing with their congressman. Nina used the noise and confusion as cover as she leaned in to Pol.

“I’m sorry, Ma’am,” Nina said. “We found out about it this morning and didn’t have an opportunity to put together a briefing statement. We should have let you know it would be a possible question.”

“Possible question be damned. We had an agreement. That simpering harbormaster promised that he’d let the silt settle for the winter and bring the harbor bottom back up to twenty-seven feet where it was designed to be. What possible reason could he have to start dredging again in January?”

“Erica has been on the phones all morning, but so far he won’t talk and won’t return our calls,” Nina said. “I’m trying other contact routes, but so far no one is surfacing with information. Except for one thing and none of us can really get anything from him.”

“What’s that?” Pol asked.

“Mr. Jasper is here. He came into the office just after you stepped on the dais. He told us the dredging had started, but refused to talk to any of us any further. He’s waiting in your office,” Nina hesitated hoping she had done the right thing. “We knew you’d want to speak to him as soon as you got back.”

“Alex is here? Why would he come with the news instead of phoning?” Pol asked.

“We asked,” Nina responded. “He said he came for the chili in the House commissary.” She couldn’t help herself; she snorted out a laugh that she’d been holding ever since she got the message from Erica in the office.

“Cumin,” Pol breathed.

“I beg your pardon Ma’am?” Nina asked.

“Nothing. You were right, I want to see him right away.” Pol paused and turned to her chief of staff. “What exactly am I supposed to be voting on right now?”

“Uh, nothing, Ma’am. I just used that as an excuse to get you off the dais before you could answer Miss Rowe’s question.” Nina, sighed. “You sometimes aren’t very politic when the subject of dredging comes up.”

Pol smiled at her right hand woman. “Thank you. You are quite right. I would have let off all that steam at the news conference and you’d be patching things up for a month to come. Well, clear the rest of my calendar for the day. I want to get Alex Jasper a bowl of chili.”

“We’ve already cleared it, Ma’am. If you don’t mind, though,” Nina paused slightly not sure if she wanted to go on with the thought, then she plunged ahead, “who is he really? We know you trust him and want to see him, but we really don’t know anything about him. We really should be careful with the Senatorial race coming up.”

“He’s my uncle.”

“But…”

“Nothing else that you should be concerned with. I promise you, he will disappear when we start the campaign. No more questions.” Pol turned into her office, crossed the common area without a word to the rest of her staff and entered her private office.

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