Just a few days after we reported that Democratic state Rep. Cheryl Steenson, of Kalispell’s House District 8, does not plan to run for reelection, Michael-John Davis announced his intention to run for the seat as a Republican. In what could prove a popular, and not necessarily debilitating, move if he knocks on enough doors, Davis said in a news release he seeks to run a grassroots campaign and does not intend to ask for contributions from local supporters.
Here’s his release in its entirety:
Michael-John (M-J) Davis formally declared his intention to to File as a Republican Candidate for Montana House District Eight today. He intends to run a non-traditional grassroots campaign, “I think there’s way too big a focus on the money in modern campaigning and I don’t like it. I intend to win the seat the way it should be won… by getting out there and listening to the needs of the constituents!” and to discourage campaign contributions from individuals saying “My focus is going to be on our economy and no one understand better than I do that right now the average voter needs every dime because the average voter has been laid off, had their hours cut or otherwise felt the impact of this recession and I truly believe that they’ll respond in a big way in June and November!”
As a happily married twenty year old father he feels uniquely suited to represent the Flathead’s youth and families in Helena. He had this to say about his age “My generation didn’t get to enjoy the post WWII prosperity when America was number one in manufacturing but we do understand that we need to get back to there, we changed from being a producing nation to a consuming nation and we’re paying for it now. We need a course correction at all levels of government to prevent the American dream from being outsourced!”
Michael-John will gladly make himself available to both the press and voters for interviews saying “Government is a job for which you are hired by the people and so the people have a right to put you through an interview like any other employer” and is actively searching for locations to hold town hall style meetings. He can be reached by telephone at (406) 260-0019 or E-mail at [email protected]
On his Myspace page, Davis, 20, notes that he voted for Obama, which should certainly make for an interesting race. Although at this very early stage of the race, it seems highly unlikely that the state and local GOP won’t be working hard to recruit other candidates to run for the seat.
About Me? Hmm… I am excited to see the great places life is gonna take me… and the great things I’ll do with my wife at my side… and my kids at my knees lol! Here in America I’m proud to say I’m a Republican even if I’m at odds with the party at times (Yes, I voted Obama!!) Although honestly, I’m a Representative Constitutional Monarchist! The current Economic and social crises are swaying people my way. Democracy in America although by far the best form of Government in the world today, cannot function as it is, We have way too many committees and it takes way too long to make things happen, In the meantime our congress people are arguing over whether or not Michael Jackson deserves to be honored by the Congress while Healthcare and the Economy sit on the back burner…. Somebody really needs to get slapped in the back of the head!
In other, semi-related news, Tom Lutey of the Billings Gazette has an interesting story this week about how many eastern Republican legislators, many of whom held leadership posted in the most recent session like Senate President Bob Story of Park City, are term-limited and can’t run this year. The Senate has 10 Republicans termed-out and several in the House. While term-limits are very popular with the electorate, this high turnover does present some problems in terms of fielding experienced, capable lawmakers in sparsely populated eastern districts. In some of these districts there just aren’t that many people able to take four months off from their profession to serve in Helena, which is why you see some frustration with term limits by lawmakers from such districts. The story is worth a read.