Dean Officially Announces State House Run

LONGVIEW — It’s been the talk of Longview, but as of Thursday, it’s official. KETK reports former Mayor Jay Dean announced his candidacy for District 7 state representative. During his time as mayor, Dean says he reached out to the community through bi-monthly town hall meetings. He says it’s important for him to know what matters to residents — “to be a voice for all people but also to understand from the citizens in this district exactly what they consider the issues. We work hard to do that.”

Dean is the president of the oil and energy company Shale Flow Specialties. Recently Dean has made recommendations to lawmakers to address issues in the oil industry. As a representative he says he will work closely with business owners and listen to their ideas. According to Dean, “From a local district 7 perspective, I will have plenty of work to do in talking to some of those business people as well to understand what we can do legislatively to help.”

The mayor who helped Longview achieve a double A bond rating while in office says he is ready to make things happen for District 7. Dean remarks, “I enjoy representing people. I enjoy…trying to bring people together to find resolution. I believe I’m a builder, not a divider.” Dean says residents can expect to see the conservative Republican style he used in the mayoral office.