Farnan running for state representative

Jeff Farnan

STANBERRY, Mo. — Stanberry optician Jeff Farnan has announced his candidacy for the District 1 Missouri House of Representatives seat.

The district now includes Atchison, Gentry, Holt and Nodaway counties, and has been represented by Allen Andrews, R-Grant City, since 2015. Because of redistricting, Andrews’ Worth County is no longer in District 1, though Andrews is ineligible to run for another term in the House due to term limits.

Farnan, a Republican, has lived in northwest Missouri the majority of his life. He and his wife of 33 years, Joan, have five sons, a daughter-in-law and two grandsons.

In a press release, Farnan said he learned to be an optician as a young man, and bought the Maryville Spec Shoppe in 1998, renovating a building on South Main in Maryville for the business. In 2017, the Spec Shoppe opened a second location in Stanberry, which Farnan still operates.

In 2015, he and partners opened the Tri-Meadows event center in Conception Junction.

Farnan said his experience as a business owner shows an ability to tackle regulations, meet the needs of customers and work with employees to solve problems.

And he said his tenure on the Jefferson C-123 school board, where he currently serves as president, indicates a willingness to give of his time and energy to improve the education of students and the working conditions for educators.

Farnan said he believes in the sanctity of life for the unborn. He is a Second Amendment conservative. He said he hopes to work on agricultural issues as well as small business concerns with constantly shifting regulations.

Farnan is a member of the St. Columba Catholic Church and the Knights of Columbus, and enjoys attending sporting events from the local level to the Kansas City Chiefs.