MINNEAPOLIS — Jim Ramstad had faded from public view in recent years due to failing health, but news of his death struck hard for many Minnesotans who knew him as a passionate champion of the people he served in his political life.
"I was speechless. I’ve been crying off and on, all day," Emily Wolffe-Lewis of Deephaven told KARE.
Her thoughts went rushing back to that day when she was 12 years old and decided on a whim to call Ramstad's office. She left a voice mail message with her advice on how he should vote on the Clinton Impeachment issue.
"A couple days later my mom picked me up from school and said, 'Did you call a congressman? He called you while you were at school today and he wants you to call him back'," Wolffe-Lewis recalled.
Ramstad asked her to shadow him for a day as he did his job, so she invited a KSTP-TV news crew to come document it. And, lo and behold, before too long the middle school kid was in a TV story with her congressman.
"Here I was at the age of 12 and this congressman is taking time out of his day to show a young person what his daily life is like and what he can do to help people, not only in the district but everywhere."
He eventually became Wolffe-Lewis's mentor and spoke at some events at her invitation. When she reached high school, Ramstad took her on as an intern. It all help distract her from the verbal abuse she received from classmates for being shorter in stature.
"I was bullied a lot in junior high and in high school, and the fact that I had that to hold and strive for, and I could go to political events and parades and help pass out stickers -- it was such a big deal, and such a gift."
Bridge Builder
Ramstad died Thursday at the age of 74 after a long fight with Parkinson's Disease. He served 18 years in Washington, representing the 3rd Congressional District in the Twin Cities' western suburbs. Before that he spent 10 years in the Minnesota Senate.
A lifelong Republican, Ramstad became known for building bridges with Democrats. He reached across the aisle to work with Rep. Patrick Kennedy and Sen. Paul Wellstone on legislation for insurance coverage for addiction recovery and mental health treatment.
"That was major legislation that has helped an awful lot of people, that he spearheaded in the House and overcame a lot of resistance within his own party to accomplish," Steven Schier, a Carleton College professor emeritus and political analyst, told KARE.
"He was a person whose compassion I think came from his own struggles with alcoholism. I think that made him a more caring and open individual who was very receptive to the concerns of others."
Ramstad often spoke to Schier's political science students when they'd hold classes in Washington, DC.
"Jim was quite willing to talk to people who disagreed with him, even those who would ask him hostile questions. He would listen carefully and respond candidly and honestly to them with no sense of arrogance or hubris."
Champion of People
Minnesota Sen. Paul Anderson, who worked as an aide for Ramstad for six years, said he could think of no better example of what all elected leaders should strive to be.
"He is somebody that who made people valued and listened to, and he worked on their behalf," Sen. Anderson told KARE.
"I think of the old adage, 'People may not remember what you did but they’re going to remember how you made them feel'. Jim Ramstad was just a champion of people."
He said he considered it an honor to have worked for Ramstad, even though it could be exhausting at time to keep up with boss's tireless pace on the job.
"Jim would say all the time, 'I don’t take myself very seriously, but I take my job really seriously.' That’s how he went about his days. His love and charge in life was to be in elected office and he loved his job a lot."
Anderson had the sad task of telling Ramstad that Paul Wellstone's plane had crashed on that awful day in October of 2002. He said Ramstad crumpled onto the sidewalk in tears but pulled himself together and headed straight for the fallen senator's St. Paul office where scores of people were gathering to grieve.
When Anderson gave his retirement speech in the Minnesota Senate in July, he invited his former boss as a special guest in the chamber where he served long ago. The full Senate gave a standing ovation to Ramstad, who was seated in the gallery with his wife Kathryn and members of Anderson's family.
Ramstad pulled himself to his feet and waved to them for what would be the last time.
