Sean Fauss, an Arnold Democratic committeeman, says he intends to run for the 113th District seat in the state House of Representatives, up for election in 2014.
Fauss said he plans to run for the Democratic Party nomination in the Aug. 6 primary. Filings open Feb. 25, 2014. Fauss is the first Democrat to announce for the seat, although Bob Boyer, a Republican who represents District 3 on the Jefferson County Council, has said he plans to run for his party’s nomination.
The current occupant of the seat, State Rep. Jeff Roorda (D-Barnhart), has announced he will run for the 22nd District Senate seat.
Fauss, 24, has never before run for elected public office. He works as a substitute teacher in the Fox School District.
He said he was inspired to enter politics because of the harsh effects of the struggling economy on the middle class for the past several years.
“I’ve lived in Arnold my whole life,” he said today (Aug. 28). “Growing up, it was a blue-collar community. After the Chrysler plant closed, I was very upset and wanted to see if I could do something to improve things. That motivated me. It’s getting harder and harder for working families to get by.”
He lists his priorities as creating good-paying jobs, seeing a port built in Jefferson County and seeing the state accept federal funding available for Medicaid expansion.
The 113th district includes parts of Arnold, Imperial and Barnhart, as well as the city of Kimmswick.
Salary for a Missouri state representative is $35,915 per year, a weekly allowance for miles traveled going to and from their place of meeting and expenses for each day the General Assembly is in session. Terms are two years.
Filings for the 2014 election close on March 25. The general election is set for Nov. 4, 2014.