Long-time Columbia County Tax Collector Ray Walker is the first person to officially announce his intention to seek the District 11 State Representative’s post currently held by Dwight Stansel of Wellborn.

Stansel will be retiring next year due to term limits that keep him from serving longer that eight years at a time. Stansel will complete his eighth year serving the people of the district in 2006.

Walker made a series of stops across the district Oct. 20 to make his announcement. Starting out in High Springs at 8:30 a.m., he traveled to Gilchrist, Lafayette and Suwannee Counties before making his final visit back home in Columbia County where he made his official announcement. The district covers a portion of Alachua County, the lower half of Columbia County and all of Suwannee, Lafayette and Gilchrist counties.

Walker, 61, is a lifelong resident of Columbia County, attended Ft. White schools and graduated from Columbia High in 1962. He has been married to Diane Jordan for the past 37 years.

Walker says he’s one of the most active residents of Columbia County, having served as a director of the Columbia County Chamber of Commerce, Lake City Kiwanis and has served on the county’s Charter Committee and is a past president of the Lake City Seminole Boosters. Walker was director of the Columbia County Building Department and worked for the Florida Department of Transportation as a designer when he ran for and was elected as tax collector in 1979.

Walker is a former member of the Florida National Guard.

Walker has also served as a past president of the Florida Tax Collectors Association and on a number of national, state and local associations including the National Association of County Treasurers and Finance Officers where he chaired the resolutions committee and served on the education committee.

Walker is also a member of the Florida Forestry Association and the Florida Farm Bureau.

Walker says he believes his life experience, coupled with his drive and political skills, will enable him to best serve as the District 11 State Representative.

His major platforms are:

*Aggressively promoting economic development in North Florida while protecting our unique quality of life.

*Improving schools and providing children with the best possible foundation to begin productive and meaningful lives.

*Defending the North Florida environment and safeguarding the very special farming and southern traditions of the area.

*Protecting the local water and other natural resources from greedy South Florida developers and land speculators.