News Clips

Larry LaRocco’s “Working for Senate” Campaign takes him to Amalgamated Sugar in Nampa for shift on production line

Jeff Pelletier - KBCI-TV, 9/11/2007

NAMPA—Larry LaRocco, candidate for the U.S. Senate, said today that he will work for a day at the Amalgamated Sugar plant in Nampa on Wednesday, September 12, starting at 7:30 a.m. This is LaRocco’s 10th job in his “working for Senate” campaign.

LaRocco continues to run for the U.S. Senate as few candidates have—he is literally working a wide variety of jobs across the state of Idaho.

LaRocco has worked with smokejumpers based in McCall where he rigged cargo chutes for the base. He has also hauled garbage in Orofino, worked in a nursing home in Pocatello, made cheese in Twin Falls, assisted probation officers in Lewiston, and sold peanuts at a Boise Hawks baseball game. While working as a nursing assistant at Beacon Hospital & Rehabilitation in Pocatello, LaRocco helped feed patients, combed their hair, and washed their faces. LaRocco’s most recent jobs were on a construction site in Pocatello, a farm in Roberts, and at the geothermal facility in Raft River.

The job at Amalgamated Sugar will be LaRocco’s 10th. After a briefing on safety and on plant operations, he will move to a production line that prepares packaged sugar for the retail market. LaRocco will be loading and stacking 5-lb. and 10-lb. bags of sugar for shipping.

“It’s important for our elected federal representatives to understand what Idahoans face every day, whether it’s educating their kids or paying for health care for themselves or aging parents, or saving for retirement,” LaRocco said. “Experience is the best teacher. By working a wide range of jobs across the state, I listen to Idahoans and learn firsthand from these experiences.”

The sugar industry in Idaho employs more than 8,000 people and generates nearly $800 million for the state’s economy. “I am working at Amalgamated Sugar because I want to ensure valuable Idaho industries are healthy and can thrive in a competitive environment. We need to ensure that there are well-paying jobs for Idaho citizens.”

LaRocco, who served two terms in the U.S. House of Representatives (1991-1995), is the Democratic candidate for the seat held by Senator Larry Craig.