Honest, tough, passionate, compassionate, unwavering -- those are the words that come up often when people talk about the 73rd Assembly District's longtime representative.
Rep. Frank Boyle, D-Summit, announced plans to retire this year and won't seek re-election in the fall after 22 years in the Wisconsin Legislature.
Boyle is being honored June 21 for his "steadfast commitment" to the people of the 73rd District. Reservations for the dinner must be made by Friday, said Warren Bender, Douglas County Democratic Party Chairman.
"He was a guy who knew what he wanted, knew what he believed in, and was going to stick to his guns no matter what," said Rep. Mary Hubler, D-Rice Lake. "He has never been afraid to take a position or a stand -- and was never afraid to lose his job because he took a controversial stand."
Hubler joined the Assembly two years before Boyle was elected in 1986, and said his fearlessness and conviction have remained constant over the years.
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City Councilor Bob Finsland met Boyle in 1975.
"We bought our cabin; he had a bit of a shack of a house right near there and I've known him since then," he said. "He was kind of involved in the anti-war stuff back then, and I was a Navy veteran. I didn't have much use for him. ... He was the hippie in the neighborhood. He and [wife] Katie were kind of wild and free."
The neighbors formed a friendship nonetheless.
For Elmer and Harriet Ecklund, who worked on his first campaign for the legislative seat, Boyle seemed to be a good person to represent northern Wisconsin.
"We're really pleased with the efforts and the type of response he had to the people up here," Elmer Ecklund said.
Boyle was among the founders of the region's grassroots lobbying effort in Madison, Superior Days, Ecklund said.
He was also instrumental in getting a veterans' clinic in Superior and keeping it there when the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs threatened a shutdown in 2004.
"He did an awful lot for the vets' clinic and for the veterans themselves," Harriet Ecklund said.
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The Ecklunds say Boyle's decision to step down after11 terms creates an opportunity to bring new ideas to Madison, but the Amnicon Lake couple agreeed that whoever is elected will have some very large shoes to fill
