Rep. Sean Duffy's move from the northern end of his district to the southern end is drawing fire from a political rival.
"I'm disappointed Congressman Duffy has chosen to leave northern Wisconsin behind," Dan Goglin said in a statement. Goglin is vice chairman of the Chequamegon Democrats, which covers Ashland and Bayfield counties.
The Wausau (Wis.) Daily Herald reported Thursday that Duffy, his wife and six children had moved from their home in Ashland to the village of Weston, which is just outside of Wausau. Both communities are in the sprawling 7th District, about 160 miles apart. Marathon City, near Wausau, was the home of Duffy's predecessor, Rep. David Obey.
In an e-mail, Goglin said Obey "did a very good job of representing Ashland. However, Obey did not make the same campaign promises Sean has made."
But Duffy, who was district attorney in Ashland County before being elected to Congress, hasn't changed his priorities, his spokeswoman said.
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"He moved because Wausau is pretty much the hub of the district," Sara Sendek said. "And he has more of a chance to see his family since he's traveling back and forth to Washington."
Weston is close to the Central Wisconsin Airport in Mosinee, which he can reach from Washington in two flights, Sendek said. Getting home to Ashland required a flight to Minneapolis followed by a 200-mile drive.
Goglin dismissed that explanation.
"Frankly, I'm not sure driving to Minneapolis and taking a direct flight is much different time-wise than starting in central Wisconsin, going through security, and then flying to another city and sitting through layovers before finally getting to D.C," Goglin said.
Sendek responded: "He is going to be up in Northwest Wisconsin just as much as he was before. Ashland is his home, but his family's very important."
But Goglin said Duffy had reneged on the "lumberjack from northern Wisconsin" image of his campaign.
"He has made himself entirely inaccessible to anyone who is not a Republican," Goglin said in an e-mail.
Duffy isn't changing addresses in Washington, Sendek said. He still is living in the House office where he works, as he has since the start of his term. "It's fine," she said. "Everybody works late hours anyway."
