We don’t often give career politicians a pat on the back, but we must give credit where credit is due.

Congressman Rick Larsen recently held a series of public meetings on the Trans-Pacific Partnership, the last of which was in little old Clinton — a tiny corner of his Second Congressional District.

By themselves, a few town hall meetings are nothing to get worked up about. Elected officials are supposed to ask what we think. But Larsen has become something of a regular visitor to Whidbey Island.

According to Larsen’s office, during the past three years alone, he’s met with constituents, visited businesses or organizations, vetted proposed policy or checked in with voters at in-person meetings or town halls a total of 23 times.

While one may not agree with all of his positions, and his say-it-like-is demeanor takes getting used to, when it comes to being accessible to constituents, a pat on the back is well deserved.

The Second District, which Larsen has represented since 2001, includes all of Island and San Juan counties, along with a swath of the Interstate 5 corridor stretching from Everett to Bellingham.

In all, approximately 650,000 people live within the district’s boundaries.

Larsen is one of Washington state’s 10 congressional representatives. The district also has two senators.

Do you remember the last time Sen. Patty Murray or Sen. Maria Cantwell visited Whidbey Island? Gov. Jay Inslee has a better track record, at least since his election.

Our 10th District state lawmakers have done better. Sen. Barbara Bailey, R-Oak Harbor; Rep. Norma Smith, R-Clinton; and Rep. Dave Hayes, R-Camano, typically hold in-person or tele-town hall meetings every year, usually in February and March. They’ve likely made other appearances on Whidbey that we’re not aware of and deserve credit.

Nobody does as good a job of tromping their district than Larsen.

One could chalk up it up to the fact that members of Congress serve two-year terms — the same is true for state representatives — making it vitally important that they check in regularly with voters, but such arguments carry little weight in our opinion. What matters is that he shows up.

All lawmakers, be they state or congressional, lead busy lives, but Larsen makes it a priority to connect with those he represents.

For that, he earns kudos.