Filing has not yet begun for August's primary election, but former Butler County Emergency Management Agency Director Jeff Shawan formally announced on Friday his plan to campaign for the Missouri House of Representatives District 153 seat.
Currently served by Rep. Steve Cookson, District 153 covers portions of Wayne, Ripley, Butler and Carter counties. Cookson will be prevented from running again by term limits. Filing opens at 8 a.m. Feb. 27 and closes at 5 p.m. March 27.
Shawan said he plans to be an advocate for the people of Southeast Missouri.
"Running for state rep was the next logical step for me to do the most good I can for the people I love the most and that's the people who live in Southeast Missouri," he said.
Shawan said the large and diverse District 153 needs a representative in close touch with its constituents.
"I describe myself as a Christian, constitutional, conservative, republican," Shawan said. "I approach life from the aspect of my faith. I approach all government from the view of the constitution."
Shawan currently works as an independent employee benefits consultant, assisting companies with group health insurance. He previously served for two and a half years as the Butler County EMA director. He is also the Red Cross community volunteer leader and holds other local and district positions with the Red Cross. He is a long-time member of First Baptist Church.
"As I approach the prospect of being a state representative, I first keep in mind that with our form of government in Missouri, with 163 state representatives, the assembly is designed for a state representative to be highly accountable to his or her constituents. The primary job of a state representative is to help constituents with problems of the state government."
Shawan said as he readies his campaign, he understands there is a mixture of urban, suburban and rural representatives in Jefferson City and has the realization that "we have deep issues in rural Missouri."
Shawan said he would like to work toward regulation relief in an effort to ease "red tape" preventing local business owners from finding success. Growth in small business and protection of the law enforcement and first responder communities is important, he continued.
Shawan said he plans to provide aggressive and informed assistance in protection for the agriculture sector and in education reform.
He wants to protect the current school system, while empowering local schools to succeed at a higher level. He said teacher pay and pensions are another major concern.
"One of the most important things that we need to do for teachers is to protect their pensions," he said. "At times the legislature has had an interest in absorbing the teacher pension and it needs to be protected at all costs."
Shawan said health care reform in rural areas, specifically in Reynolds County, needs to be addressed.
An example of this is in Ellington, Mo., where a clinic closed, reducing the number of providers even more. Shawan said a person requiring medical care in certain areas of Reynolds County may have to drive more than an hour to reach the nearest provider, which he said is "unacceptable."
Shawan said he will also focus his efforts on the creation of jobs and other opportunities in the area. He said despite his charitable efforts personally, he would like to see an end to the generations of families who have lost touch with the world of work by finding ways to offer "a hand up instead of a hand out."
He said he hopes to find support for organizations, like Whole Kids Outreach in Ellington, that teach life skills to families in an effort to break down "generations of failure."
Shawan is married to Christy (Montgomery) Shawan, who is the CEO of Black River Medical Center. The couple resides in Poplar Bluff.