Democrat files for HD4 seat
Democrat Ed Lieser of Whitefish has
filed to run for House District 4.
The seat is currently held by
Republican Derek Skees, who has chosen not to run for re-election,
but to run for the state auditor position. Democrat Tom Muri has
also filed for the HD 4 seat, setting up a primary run by at least
two candidates.
Lieser worked as a forester for the
Forest Service before retiring in 2008 after a 30-year career. He
worked for several years in the Tally Lake Ranger District on the
Flathead National Forest. He currently works as a forestry
consultant.
Lieser said he was encouraged by
several friends to enter the race.
“I look at this as an opportunity to
serve the community I’ve grown with and grown fond of,” Lieser
said.
He served in the U.S. Navy during the
Vietnam War and graduated from the University of Minnesota with a
degree in natural resource management. He began his career with the
Forest Service in Potlatch, Idaho, before transferring to Montana.
Lieser and his wife Sue raised three children in Whitefish.
Lieser has served in a number of
volunteer positions including baseball and soccer coach, on the
Whitefish Water District Board, the Whitefish Fire Service Area
board, is co-founder of the Whitefish Area Fire Safe Council, on
the Bob Marshall Wilderness Foundation board and on the Whitefish
Legacy Partners board. He is a member of the Society of American
Foresters holding local and state office positions.
“I gravitate to natural resource
management,” Lieser said. “If I can make a difference in terms of
natural resource management I will.”
Since retirement, Lieser has worked as
a field guide for the Road Scholar program and substitute teacher,
a position he said that has given him a unique perspective.
“I believe education is important to
every aspect of our lives,” he said. “There’s nothing better than
being in the classroom.”
Lieser said he plans to use the
campaign to learn what issues are important to folks. Job creation,
property taxes and cumbersome business regulations have already
come to the top, he noted.
“I want to get a sense of what the
community wants,” he said. “I really want to talk to residents. My
goal is to hear what they have to say.”
The primary election is June 5,
followed by the general election on Nov. 6.