Brother of NBA Legend Larry Bird to run as a Democrat for the Indiana State House
Former Vigo County Councilman Mark Bird on Tuesday announced he will file as a Democratic candidate the 43rd District seat in the Indiana House of Representatives.
Bird, 64, in mid December said he was considering running for the office after incumbent Rep. Clyde Kersey, D-Terre Haute, announced he would not see re-election to the House. Kersey has held that seat since 1996.
The first day candidates can file for office is Jan. 10. The last day to file is noon Feb. 9.
Ive gotten some great support from Clyde (Kersey) and I hope I can follow in his footsteps and represent the 43rd District as well as he has done for more than two decades," Bird said.
Bird said he initially plans to focus on three issues -- education and labor and drug usage.
"I feel the teacher shortage in Indiana is (because) college students do not want to get into the teaching profession because of the lower pay" and yearly automatic increases for longevity have been removed, Bird said. "I think we need to increase funding for teachers as well as education."
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