Democrat Lieser seeks second term in House

Democrat Ed Lieser announced Monday that he will seek a second term in the state House of Representatives.

A retired forester, Lieser was first elected to House District 4 in 2012. Due to redistricting, Lieser will seek election for House District 5 to serve Whitefish in the 2014 election.

As a freshman legislator, Lieser sponsored 15 bills and served on several committees.

“It was a tremendous learning experience for me and I believe my accomplishments could be measured in many ways,” he said. “My votes supported tax reductions for businesses and homeowner’s property. I worked hard for improvements in water quality, access to public lands, and our library system.”

Lieser worked on a number of environmental resource issue bills during his first term. He sponsored a bill to provide tax credit for property owners in the wildland-urban interface who reduce fire fuels on their land. Another looked to set up septic tank inspections prior to the sale of property. He also advocated for a more aggressive aquatic invasive species inspection in the state.

A library bill Lieser requested would have given cities the ability to create or enlarge a public library district. The bill came partially in response to some concerns voiced by the Whitefish Community Library that the library’s district boundary should be increased beyond the city limits.

Lieser said he would like another opportunity to pass important legislation that didn’t make it into law during the last session. He plans to build from the experience and networking on both sides of the aisle that resulted from his first term in office.

“Not all of those efforts resulted in successful legislation, which is why I think I should pursue another term,” he said. “The experience gained from the past legislative session and the work between the sessions will make me a more effective representative.”

Lieser defeated Republican Tim Baldwin in the 2012 election for House District 4.

Lieser retired from the Forest Service in 2008 after a 30-year career. He worked for several years in the Tally Lake Ranger District on the Flathead National Forest and served in a number of volunteer positions in Whitefish.

Lieser will formally announce his candidacy at a reception at Crush on Jan. 6 from 5:30 to 6:30 p.m.