Another year has come to an end, and in the case of one Wisconsin congressman, it's the end of an era. Mark Green was elected to Congress in 1998, and spent “eight fascinating years” in the US House of Representatives, he says, which involved visits to Iraq and Afghanistan. The Green Bay Republican reflects on how he's learned about patience and persistence, and the importance of establishing good relationships in both political parties. “To get things done you have to be able to get support from both sides of the aisle and some of my closest friends in Congress are Democrats … folks that I have worked with in various causes or may have traveled with. That's something we don't see enough of these days. There's too much partisanship, too much demonizing in politics.”
Green's run for Wisconsin governor didn't get him the job, but he says his campaign ideas are solid and he wants to find ways to advance them, either through his new occupation or via other means. “We put together about 135 concrete ideas to try to help the state. And with the tenor of the campaign, not just the race for governor but I think all the campaigns, it kind of got lost on all the negative ads that were out there and I want to find ways to lift those ideas up and continue to advance them because I think they're awfully important to the state.
Although a new source of income hasn't yet been determined, Green knows one thing, he wants to stay here in the Badger State.
“I want to try to continue to live in Wisconsin, raise my family in Wisconsin. So like everyone else, I care passionately about our schools, our universities, and the quality of life that we have.”
Green says, as a member of congress, he's seen an amazing part of history, and he says, it's been an “absolute privilege to serve.”
Godfrey & Kahn, S.C. has just announced today (Tuesday) in a press release that Green will rejoin the law firm's Green Bay office. Prior to being elected to Congress, Green practiced law with Godfrey & Kahn for 11 years beginning in 1989.