ShawneeDispatch.com

The first candidate has filed for the 2010 elections for a state legislative seat in Shawnee.

John Rubin of Shawnee filed Monday to run as a Republican for the 18th District seat, which covers the northeastern portion of the city and is currently held by Democrat Cindy Neighbor.

Rubin first ran against Neighbor for the seat in 2008. He retired in 2004 after 10 years as a Social Security administrative law judge. In his first campaign for the 18th District seat, he described himself as a conservative who wants to control spending and address issues like immigration and healthcare.

He said the motivating factors to run again were largely the same, saying that the state has been running a course of irresponsible spending in the last few years, and now “those chickens have come home to roost.”

“I’d like to adopt a budget policy and spending policy that are responsible regardless of economic upturns and downturns, so the state never faces the kinds of budget issues we’re facing now,” he said.

He said he also wanted to work for a responsible approach to health care reform that does not include a government take over, and to help small businesses in order to decrease unemployment rates.

He said his 2008 defeat was by a narrow margin, and he believes that the name recognition issues and strong Democratic sentiment he faced in that race will not be a problem in 2010.

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