Nevada County Picayune and Gurdon Times Newspaper Archive

Ross Formally Announces Candidacy

State Sen. Mike Ross formally announced Monday he was seeking the Democratic nomination for the United States House of Representatives from the Fourth Congressional District of Arkansas.

Ross toured the district making this announcement Monday, accompanied by his family.

They visited voters at county courthouses in Texarkana, El Dorado, Pine Bluff and Hot Springs, completing the day with a rally in his hometown of Prescott.

"As a small town pharmacy owner, I personally see seniors who must make the difficult choice between buying their medicine and groceries," Ross said as he stumped the district.

"My campaign is about fighting for a Medicare prescription benefit for our seniors, using the budget surplus to save Social Security and stopping the disgraceful practice of borrowing from the Social Security Trust Fund.

"My campaign is about stopping telemarketers and other businesses from buying and selling your confidential financial and medical history without your permission. It's about asking medical decisions out of the hands of the insurance company bureaucrats and putting them back where they belong  in the hands of the patients and their physicians.

"My campaign is about fighting for a patient bill of rights and holding HMOs accountable for their actions," Ross said.

"As the son of the public school educators and the father of two children attending public schools, my campaign is about safer schools and smaller class sizes. It's about providing our teachers with the computer and Internet training that they need to prepare our children for the jobs of tomorrow.

"My campaign is about character education  putting important values like honesty and respect back in the classroom," Ross said. "These issues are just some of the reasons why I am running for the United States Congress.

"I will fight to keep the promises we have made to our senior citizens by using the budget surplus to shore up Social Security and end the disgraceful practice of borrowing from the Social Security Trust Fund. I will also fight to finally pay down the national debt to lower interest rates so we don't burden our children with our debt," he said.

"I have provided honest, effective leadership in the Arkansas Senate for the past 10 years. I believe my legislative record and my experience as a small business owner uniquely qualifies me to represent you in the United States Congress.

"As your next congressman, I promise to work hard, be accessible to all people and to always be honest with you," Ross said in closing.

Ross is seeking the Democratic nomination for the United States House of Representatives from the Fourth Congressional District of Arkansas in the May 23 Primary Election.