From: Sauk Valley Sunday, 24 August 2008
Bivins pledges 'service, commitment and sacrifice'
By Olivia Cobiskey
ocobiskey@svnmail.com
800-798-4085, ext. 535
New senator opens campaign office in Dixon
DIXON - State Sen. Tim Bivins and his wife, Terri, cut the red ribbon on the senator's new campaign headquarters Saturday to the cheers of nearly 20 Dixon residents.
"I feel like it's an honor to have my husband represent the people," said Terri, 53. "I know he'll do a good job because I know he's a man of integrity and honor."
As people trickled into the office, it was apparent that Bivins, who was Lee County sheriff for 20 years, was a familiar face in Dixon.
"I know above all he's a man of integrity. I really respect him. He's not going to be someone who compromises his principles for votes," said Pat Love, 54, who attended Dixon High School with Bivins and later worked with him in the sheriff's department.
All the praise didn't seem to shake Bivins, who kept his eye on the election.
"This isn't about me, it's about service, commitment and sacrifice," said Bivins, who hopes potential voters in the 45th District will elect him to a full term in the state Senate in November.
Bivins, a Dixon Republican, was appointed to the post earlier this year following the retirement of former state Sen. Todd Sieben, R-Geneseo.
And like his opponent, Marty Mulcahey, a Galena Democrat, Bivins has been shaking a lot of hands and speaking to potential voters one-on-one this campaign.
In fact, he's put 4,600 miles on this car in the last 3 weeks, he joked with the packed room.
"I have a frequent flier for oil changes," he said, laughing.
Getting more serious, Bivins said it was after working on the 2006 gubernatorial primary campaign of state Sen. Bill Brady, R-Bloomington, that "I realized we needed a voice down in Springfield."
"I thought I can retire like my dad did and yell at the TV every time a politician said something, or I could get out there and change things."
The state budget is a priority, Bivins said. The Senate was handed the $59 billion budget 2 hours before they were expected to vote on it, he said.
"That is fiscally irresponsible," Bivins said. "Any community needs to have a vision. You have to have long-range goals and plans, and at this point in time, we don't seem to have that. We are like a ship without a rudder. We are a reactionary government, reacting to deficits. That's not a good place for anyone to be at."
It wasn't just familiar faces that stopped by the new office.
Nell and Grove Nooney had just picked up a copy of the New York Times at Books on First when they noticed the new campaign headquarters on Hennepin.
"We're Democrats," said Nell, 69, who grew up in Tampico and moved to Dixon 6 years ago.
"That shouldn't matter, it's the vote that counts," added her husband, Grove, 80, a retired mathematician from Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, formerly Berkeley Radiation Laboratory in Berkeley, Calif.
The couple talked to Bivins about transportation, the economy and crime.
The fact that the Nooneys were Democrats didn't matter to the Bivins' campaign staff. That's exactly why the office is here in Dixon, said Zach Messersmith, press secretary and volunteer coordinator for the Bivins campaign.
"Everyone is welcome whether they are a supporter or undecided," Messersmith said. "Our office is open. We want people to come in and talk to us if they have questions."
The office doesn't have set hours, but that is coming soon.
Messersmith said he hoped some of Saturday's visitors will volunteer to help in the office, walk the precincts, make phone calls, walk in parades and help put up yard signs.
"Anything that helps the organization run smoothly and gets Senator Bivins elected," Messersmith said.
It's also about being available, said Martha Anderson, 48, of Dixon.
"Tim is always available," said Anderson, whose husband volunteers for the campaign. "I believe in what Tim stands for and in his integrity."