meet the office – Rep. PETE OLSON (R-TEXAS)

Rep. Pete Olson and his staff miss the warmth of Texas but are all looking forward to making their mark in D.C.

John Wyatt, chief of staff: Wyatt enjoys seeing how his staff has come together. “I’m very lucky to be working with a group of selfless, dedicated and energetic people,” he said.

He previously worked as a senior legislative assistant to Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas). “I’m enjoying working on the House side, but I have to admit that six-year terms are pretty nice,” he said.

{mosads}The best advice Wyatt’s received is: “Communication and common sense will get you through 90 percent of the difficulties you’ll face.”

Wyatt’s always thought being an astronaut or racecar driver sounded “wicked” if his Congress gig didn’t work out. His idol is Abraham Lincoln.

Ademide Adedokun, staff assistant: Adedokun enjoys meeting all the school groups that remind her of how fun school trips could be. Before her position with Rep. Olson, Adedokun worked as an intern for Rep. Kevin Brady (R-Texas). “I miss Texas and the warmth,” she said.

The best advice Adedokun received about her job is that everyone she interacts with should be treated as a customer. This advice is from Rep. Brady himself.

Adedokun’s idols are the people of Denmark during World War II. “Ninety-nine percent of the Danish Jews survived the Holocaust because the people of Denmark smuggled most of them out to Sweden,” she said. “It’s proof that the opportunity to do what is right always exists.”

Marjorie Dornette, scheduler:

Dornette enjoys getting to start completely from scratch setting the foundations for a freshman member who has true conservative beliefs. Dornette previously worked for then-Rep. Steve Chabot (R-Ohio).

The best advice Dornette’s received is to be faithful in the little things; no detail is too small to ignore. If she weren’t in politics, Dornette would be working somewhere she could be hands-on in making a difference in people’s lives, preferably working to push school reform through choice and vouchers.

“My idol is [Olson communications director] Luke Marchant, because of his omniscient and uncanny wisdom,” she said. “Really, though, it’s Margaret Thatcher, who said, ‘I am in politics because of the conflict between good and evil, and I believe that in the end good will triumph.’ ”

Luke Marchant, communications director: Marchant enjoys being able to continue what he started on the Olson campaign, staying true to the congressman’s conservative principles.

Before Olson, Marchant worked for the Texas Department of Agriculture, dealing with the cows, plows and sows, he said.

If he weren’t in Congress, Marchant said, he would be “winning back the majority in a district near you.” He claims Trent Lott as his idol.

Jesse Lashbrook, legislative correspondent: Lashbrook, who worked for Rep. Olson’s campaign before becoming his legislative correspondent, misses eating good Texas barbecue and Mexican food, but does enjoy his new position, meeting people from other states and learning they are just like him.

“The best advice I received about my job is that there is no letter that doesn’t need a response,” he said. If he weren’t in politics, Lashbrook would be floating the river in Texas or going to the Mud Bogs in North Carolina.

Lashbrook names his idol as Johnny Cash.