I too am mourning the loss of Doug LaMalfa today

Just a couple of sips into my first cup of morning coffee, my wife informed me of Congressman Doug LaMalfa’s unexpected passing.

Our relationship was strictly professional, but we knew each other well enough we addressed each other by our given names. I can’t say Doug and I were friends, but we probably met nearly every time he came to Susanville during his tenure in Congress. He was the elected official. I was the local newspaperman.

I guess the finality of death bashes me hard each and every time I encounter it. I mean, the notion that Doug and I will never, ever talk with each other again feels strangely  incomprehensible to me. I can hear his voice ringing in my ears.

Of course, I attended many of his town hall meetings as a reporter, but as part of an informal agreement he’d struck with the newspaper’s publisher, he also would stop by the newspaper’s conference room during each visit to Susanville for a no-holds barred, completely off-the-record conversation about the issues of the day.

I remember one of Doug’s congressional staffers chastised me after an abrupt ending came to one of those meetings.

“You’re being pretty hard on the congressman,” he said as he stormed out the door.

I responded, “Hey, I’m just asking him questions about statements he’s made.”

Oh, I knew I had stabbed a nerve and twisted the knife a little because just a few moments before our meeting suddenly ended, I saw that flush of crimson wash across his cheeks. I saw the veins pop out on his neck and forehead. He was angry with me to say the least. But he never held my question against me, nor I his answer against him. At his town hall later that evening, he treated me as if that encounter had never happened. I did the same.

I remember during a Republican Party meeting downstairs at the Vet’s Hall when some locals bitterly complained about the billions of taxpayer dollars — you remember, the pallets of $100 bills — delivered to Iran. I uncharacteristically raised my hand and asked Doug to set the record straight — that those billions of dollars came from Iranian assets that had been seized due to American sanctions, and they did not come from pocketbooks of American taxpayers. Not a popular clarification among this crowd, for sure, but Doug did acknowledge the Iranians actually were getting their own money back. As a journalist, I admire and respect truth over political partisanship every time, especially in a circumstance such as this one.

A while back someone sent me a horrific video of a wild stallion that broke one of his hind legs as he escaped from a Bureau of Land Management holding pen during a roundup. As a pair of wranglers loped leisurely along behind this three-legged horse, a helicopter apparently chased the poor, doomed thing to exhaustion before he was finally euthanized. I sent Doug an email expressing my horror, and sure enough, he did take a stand on the matter the next time it came up for a vote. I told him thank you the next time I saw him.

But here’s one for you to consider. I called Doug’s Washington office after the events of Jan. 6, seeking to get his comments for the local newspaper. He took the time to call me from the airport in Denver during a layover as he waited for a connecting flight back to California. We spoke for about half an hour.

I know I am not a big shot. I know that I am just a hometown newspaper guy. But in the aftermath of this historic event, in the midst of everyone trying to get comments from anyone, Doug responded to my humble request for an interview. He took the time and the opportunity _ through me — to share his experience with his constituents. Even though we disagreed about a great many things, that really says it all about the man he was, and his sincere dedication to all of us.

Rest in peace, Doug. You will be sorely missed.