Tom Lyon, former long-time Shawano resident, died on March 8 from a rare form of leukemia at his home in Cambridge, Wisconsin. He was 80 — and he was my best friend. Over the past few months, I was fortunate to talk to Tom several times on the phone. During one of those visits, he said, “Jim, I don’t think I’m going to win this one. So, do me a favor. Remember all the great times we had, okay?” I said I would.

To keep each other safe, we’ve been asked to add barriers — distance and masks — to our face-to-face interaction. We also have videoconferencing to help overcome those barriers. Yet to this day, Republican leaders in the state Assembly are holding meetings without requiring attendees to wear masks or offering a video option for those who don’t feel safe attending. The Assembly Committee on Sporting Heritage is an example.

In a democracy, the people hold the political power. Every citizen controls that power through their vote. We can hire the people who we think will be best for maintaining our democracy, or we can fire those who don’t have our best interests in mind. Democracy requires the people to exercise their right to vote. Throughout our nation’s history, there have been struggles for voter access.

Days after it became clear that Joe Biden had won the 2020 election, Sen. Ron Johnson was asked by a reporter if he was congratulating Biden on his win. “Nothing to congratulate him for,” was Johnson’s snarky reply. A month later, Johnson used his platform as chairman of the Homeland Security Committee to broadcast conspiracy theories about the election.

State Rep. Jeff Mursau, R-Crivitz, was among seven Republican members of the Wisconsin State Assembly who voted Feb. 4 against a resolution that formally repealed Gov. Tony Evers’ COVID-19 public health emergency order and, in turn, the extension of his statewide mask mandate.

Do you know why the founding fathers of this country instituted the Electoral College? The founders did not want a direct popular vote; a concern was that the most populated states would control the vote.