Power Profile: Representative Bob Bromley
Representative Bob Bromley represents the 162nd district in the Missouri House of Representatives. Photo courtesy of Tim Bommel/House Communications
When Rep. Bob Bromley, R-Carl Junction, retired from his career in engineering, he lived the good life, full of RV trips and cruises, but he began to wonder, “maybe there’s more to life than this.” When his predecessor in the Missouri House of Representatives finished his time in office, Bromley, despite never running for office before, decided to throw his hat in the race.
“We’re truly a citizen legislature,” he said. “We have a wide variation of backgrounds and groups. We’ve got everybody from veterinarians to doctors to engineers to preachers to farmers to electricians to plumbers, you name it!”
From Bromley's perspective, those differing backgrounds is one of the things that makes the General Assembly strong—a variety of expertise from all over the state. His professional experience spans serving in the U.S. Army, teaching high school science and a long career as an engineer in electric generation. He worked for several years in the fuel department of a southwest Missouri utility company, working his way up to managing a coal-fired power plant.
“I loved that job,” he said. “I would love if my kids went to work for an electric company because they value their employees’ safety so much.”
He recognizes and honors the important work it takes to keep the lights on, and in his time serving as the chairman of the House Utilities Committee, his experience as a retired utilities employee and as a customer helps keep important issues like affordability and reliability at the forefront. “When customers flip the switch, they expect the lights to come on and have a reasonable bill at the end of the month,” he said. “That’s one of my biggest priorities is making sure that people do have reliable electricity, and they can afford to pay for it.”
Among his other priorities in the Missouri House is helping our state's veterans. “We’ve helped them on tuition, we’ve helped them on health care,” said Bromley. “We work on a lot of programs, like veteran suicide programs and raising money and getting service dogs for disabled veterans. It’s a passion of mine. To me, those are things that are very tangible that you can see happen.”
As for Bromley’s next steps after his time in the State Capitol, he is not slowing down.
“Retirement isn’t for everybody,” he said. “I’m 70-years-old now, and I still feel like why would I want to give up all the background experience I’ve got and just go live on the beach? There’s always time to slow down. I don’t know what I’ll do. I’ll probably go back to volunteering and working with some service organizations. It keeps you young and keeps your mind active when you continue to do things.”
For more information on Rep. Bromley, please visit his official House website.