Sipes announces candidacy for State Representative
TOM PINNEY/DAILY FORUM
Ryan Sipes, a Democratic candidate for the Missouri House of Representatives in 2018, speaks to a crowd at the Nodaway County Democrats meeting Monday night. Sipes is seeking to unseat incumbent Allen Andrews (R-Grant City).
After winning his seat in an unopposed election last November, Allen Andrews (R-Grant City) won’t have such an easy road in 2018.
Ryan Sipes, an independent tech contractor from Big Lake, Missouri, has announced that he will run as a Democrat for the District 1 seat in the Missouri House of Representatives.
Sipes is originally from Craig, which he noted had become a “ghost town” under Republican leadership as jobs continue to leave rural areas. He said the biggest problems with Republican plans is that they tend to abandon rural Missourians, especially rural millennials.
“One thing I see consistently is millennials that are underemployed or unemployed in northwestern Missouri,” Sipes said. “A big part of my plan is to offer up ideas as to how these people get trained and become competitive in a global economy.
“We need to prepare young minds in northwestern Missouri to succeed in a global economy. It’s a core tenet of my platform: we need to have sustainable job training so that we can give our youth a chance to succeed.”
Sipes said another focus of his platform regards internet access across the state, which he noted his parents in Craig received only a few weeks ago. If elected, he pledges to introduce a bill regarding high-speed broadband access in rural areas on day one.
“Fiber is the ultimate goal,” Sipes said. “But right now, we need to define what broadband access is in Missouri, and we need to get everyone to that level.”
Sipes also wants to look into legislation that will encourage business startups in rural Missouri, such as NorthwestCell and Midwest Data Center.
Sipes said he is running because he cares about the people in northwestern Missouri.
“I have a lot of friends and family in the region, and I grew up here,” Sipes said. “This is home to me, and I always wanted to come back, but I was hindered by a lack of opportunity here.
“I worked in tech for a while, and a lot of those jobs and opportunities to work in the field are in urban metropolitan areas like Kansas City and Denver. Now, I’m at a point where I can live back home and work from home, and I want to make sure my friends and family who are still in the area have opportunities to succeed and make a good living for themselves. The Republican plans don’t include that.”
He also wants to contribute to the marketplace of ideas in District 1 and in Jefferson City.
“The people of northwest Missouri have Allen Andrews and the Republican plan for what Missouri should look like,” Sipes said. “They deserve another set of ideas, and they deserve to hear my platform and make their own decision for what Missouri should look like.
“The reason there hasn’t been a strong showing from Democrats lately is that there is no energized Democratic Party. They’re unable to share their core ideals enthusiastically or offer an alternative vision for Missouri. I plan on offering that alternative vision.”