If you haven't heard of Chris Buckel, ask your kids. If they don't recognize him, search Google. If you don’t have a computer, look around your neighbourhood for a yard sign. If there are no yard signs, then start participating.
Every four years people find themselves fixated on the elections, particularly the presidential campaigns. While it is unarguable that the selection of a country’s leader deserves careful consideration and attention, many voters seem to overlook the influence of local politicians.
Taking the time to peel away the layers of government, the often under publicized and overlooked state representatives, are many times the core advocates behind the policies which affect local residence everyday lives.
As a first time political candidate, Chris Buckel is making the virtual leap and taking his campaign to the web. The only State Assembly candidate in the 29th District who has created a campaign internet website, blog forum, Youtube account and MySpace and Facebook network accounts, Buckel is hoping to reach out to people though new technology.
"I believe online media is a great equalizer in campaigns. Traditional media is very costly so it benefits the wealthy candidates. Now, everyone can get a website up and start networking. The Internet is changing politics because it offers a connection between the people and the government that didn’t exist before. This is especially true in my area. We never get TV news about what is going on in Madison and we rarely get it from the newspapers. Now we can go online and find out, in real time, what government is doing," claims Buckel.
By taking the plunge into the online world, Buckel seems to encapsulate the next generation of political candidates who are creating a means for conversation with their constituents through the web.
At 34 Buckel may seem a young candidate. However his ability to listen to the needs and concerns of both the young students he teaches high school social studies to, as well as the older members of the community he interacts with as a member of the Hammond Village Board and Knights of Columbus, provide him a generational spanning quality.
"Chris never dismisses anyone. He has a heart for all ages of people. He may not believe as they believe, or enjoy the same things, or be plagued by the same problems, but he will always give each person the same attention and care," explains Buckel’s mother, Julie Buckel.
Born in Northern Iowa, the only son of two teachers, he and his two sisters [Heather and Missy] relocated from Iowa to Minnesota before finally settling in Wisconsin. "We moved during his kindergarten, 8th grade and senior year in high school. Yet he was still able to maintain a caring and happy personality. He always fit in well and even though it was difficult, he transitioned in a way that we were very proud of," said Julie Buckel.
After graduated from Ellsworth Senior High School, Buckel earned his Associates Degree from Rochester Community College where he served on the Student Senate and received Academic Honours as well as accolades as an All-American athlete. It is at RCC that he met his wife Jonalee.
Newly married and with an infant daughter, Buckel made the difficult transition of starting a family while attending college full time. Offered an athletic scholarship, he transferred to St. Cloud State University. As an adult student at SDSU, he began to embrace his interest in politics and again earned academic honours, achieving a bachelor's degree in Political Science and Social Studies.
Upon attaining his bachelor's degree, he followed in his parents footsteps and began a teaching career. As a full time teacher, husband and father, he found the time and energy to earn a Masters degree in Public Policy at the University of Minnesota’s Humphrey Institute of Public Affairs in 2004.
Recently accepted to Hamline Law School, Chris chose to defer his enrolment in order to be more involved with his family and community. "This is one of Chris’s most admiral qualities; he sees the value in putting family and community before his own desires," explains Buckel's sister, Heather Buckel-Duellman.
Now a father of four, Buckel is a high school social studies teacher, student council advisor and local union president at St. Croix Central High School in Hammond. Teaching colleague Sandy Hermundson noted that, “Chris is a tremendous professional who is very dedicated to his students’ intellectual and personal growth. He reinforces the importance of citizenship and civic responsibilities in very authentic ways. His students know he’s the real deal."
Buckel’s engagement with politics began at an early age, "My earliest memory in politics was elementary school. We had a mock election of the 1984 presidential election. We got to vote for either Ronald Reagan or Walter Mondale," said Buckel. As his grandfather was an avid Democrat, Chris followed suite as a child and sided with Mondale. "I remember a theme song that incorporated the Ghostbusters movie which has come out around the same time. We sang 'Republican-busters' instead of 'Ghost-busters,'" Buckel proclaims with a smile.
While he has found a bipartisan view of politics, stressing political conversation over party-line politics, as an adult, he still finds the Democratic Party best suites his personal views. Most notable is the Democrat’s desire to support and speak out for those who cannot represent themselves.
"Chris has always been a compassionate person who thinks of others well-being. Even as kids, on the playground he would stand up for his smaller peers and especially for his sisters" explained Heather Buckel-Duellman.
Promoted by his campaign, and reinforced by his family and colleagues, Buckels compassion for the 'underdog' seems to motivate his steadfast dedication to the policies and issues he firmly supports.
"Chris's father and I tried to instil social justice issues and have our kids thoughtful of others," said Julie Buckel. "I worked in a home for handicapped kids and often the ones that had no family would visit for a holiday. Chris was always very supportive and kind. Most of the kids were in wheelchairs and needed lots of care. Even with their physical and mental disability, I think he still saw the real person and tried to treat them like any other kid. Chris had a lot of friends, but he always included the kids that didn't. One particular boy named Arthur invited Chris to a birthday party, and Chris ended up the only one that attended. He was being raised by his grandma who was quite poor. She later confided in me the importance of that relationship in Arthur's life," she added.
It seems Buckel has taken his parents values of social justice to heart. These ideals are reflected in his work within the Veteran’s Affairs department of the late Minnesota Senator Paul Wellstone’s office and on the Hammond Village board. As a member of the village board, Buckel’s crowning achievement was working to assist senior citizens with affordable housing.
"I want to help people. The feeling I got working with Senator Wellstone and the feeling I get working on the village board, when you actually help a person solve a problem, is a great feeling. People have problems that can be solved with hard work and the will to make a difference," said Buckel.
His common sense and plain language approach to discussing government emanates authenticity. When he speaks and listens to people on the street, he does not look over their shoulder, but offers them his undivided attention.
"I am just like everyone else, a concerned member of a community and a concerned citizen of Wisconsin," asserts Buckel. Adding, "I worry about affordable health care and affordable college education for my kids. I’m very concerned with property tax relief and local economic and manufacturing growth. And I care very much about the children and veterans of Wisconsin."
Many qualities seem to favour the Buckel campaign for State Assembly. His young and fresh perspectives on community and public service follow the trend of his national party. His professional and educational background as well as his ability to embrace new forms of interaction with people of all ages and socio-cultural backgrounds, provides a solid platform to rally supporters.
"Chris is an empathetic, strong, knowledgeable and hardworking leader who genuinely knows how to listen and communicate with people," explain Buckel’s cousins and campaign consultants Donny and Joey Brunner.
His advocacy approach to political dialogue is a stark contrast from the traditional tight lipped and cynical style of politics most voters have come to expect from politicians. Buckel hopes that his new, transparent, method of government interaction will draw people into his campaign and build what he calls ‘political conversation’ within the 29th district and across Wisconsin.
In one of many personal blogs written on his website, Chris discusses his openness to people of all political affiliations and invites them to contact him in order to open up the lines of communications on issues and policies.
"I believe the incumbent Representative was selected because he is a 'party man' rather than a 'people man'. That type of political partisanship has no place in good decision making," stresses Buckel. "I truly don't care about party affiliation or differences in ideology. I only care about making a difference in people’s lives. In my opinion it's not about who is right, it’s about what is right."