Lawton Native and Republican John Michael Montgomery has announced his bid as State Representative of District 62 which composes of Lawton and its surrounding communities, a position T.W. Shannon has held since 2006.

Montgomery has lived in Lawton his entire life since he was born in August of 1991. He is a 2010 graduate of Eisenhower High School where he was on the swim team. After he graduated from Eisenhower he began his college career at Cameron University.

Upon completing his Freshman year, Montgomery then transferred to the University of Oklahoma and began to serve in student government. He is expected to graduate with a Bachelors in International and Area Studies this upcoming May.

The announcement was made on Montgomery's personal Facebook after he filed for candidacy.

Montgomery has three goals in mind he will work to improve upon for Lawton and the state of Oklahoma if elected as Representative - education, jobs and helping veterans.

As a former student of the Lawton Public Schools system, Montgomery hopes to take what he noticed during his time in school to improve learning and help get funds to the classroom.

"For Lawton about 60-70% of it's funding for public schools comes from the state so when the state says it's going to cut back on funding it really impacts Lawton a lot more than in other places where state funding only accounts for 30-40% of their funding," Montgomery said. "We need common sense, not Common Core. We need to get money into the classroom and help out our teachers the best that we can and cut down on the bureaucracy of the education system."

Montgomery states that although more businesses have come to Lawton to make it more desirable to live, they do not bring in the quality jobs that a person can raise a family with.

"My dad works at Goodyear so I understand the importance of a good paying quality job to raise your family on," he said. "I think we need a few more of those types of jobs in Lawton so we can sustain the middle class as well as sustain the service economy."

Montgomery hopes to also bridge the gap with retired military that plant their roots in Lawton, by helping them get into the private sector for these businesses to grow with their experience.

Despite his young age, Montgomery believes that this will not be an issue for him in the House when serving Lawton and his state.

"There are quite a few candidates but also individuals that have served at a young age in the state legislature," he said. "I don't perceive it to be an issue, I think that the younger generation brings a unique vibrancy, energy and zeal for fresh ideas and solutions."

For those wishing to address their concerns and issues they can contact Montgomery via his Twitter page @Montgomery4OK62 or his email - jmmok14@gmail.com.

Montgomery will run against fellow Republican candidate Jesse Cross during the primary election in June. John Dunaway is the only Democrat candidate running for the position of Representative of District 62 at this time.

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