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.