Published: October 29, 2009 10:36 pm      

New Albany city attorney seeking state seat in 2010

Shane Gibson looking to defeat Ed Clere in District 72 tilt

Floyd County native Shane Gibson announced his candidacy for the District 72 State Representative seat Thursday.

Gibson, who is the city attorney for New Albany and a Democrat, is seeking the office held by Republican Ed Clere. The District 72 seat will be up for election in November 2010.

Before Gibson can advance to the November runoff, he must first win the Democratic Party primary race slated for May. As of press time, no other Democratic candidates had declared for the primary.

Gibson said his years of dealing with finances and law qualify him to represent District 72.

“I believe in serving my community and ensuring that the needs of the community are addressed by its elected officials,” Gibson said in a news release. “I have been involved in budgetary issues at the local level and have a background in small business, large corporations and accounting, which I believe will be beneficial to the State House.”

Gibson is a graduate of Floyd Central High School and has a bachelor’s degree from Indiana University-Purdue University Fort Wayne. He earned his law degree at the University of Louisville, and was a Floyd County deputy prosecutor before becoming city attorney.

He is married to Shannon Gibson, and the couple have three children. Gibson said education will be one of the top issues of his platform.

“As the state continues to struggle with budgetary issues, I am deeply worried that public education is being adversely affected and not adequately represented,” he said. “Schools in our district are not being given the resources necessary to meet the current demands in order to operate and prepare our children for the future.”

Clere is in his first term at the Statehouse after defeating Democrat Bill Cochran in 2008.

Cochran held the District 72 seat for 34 years before falling to Clere in a tightly contested race that needed a count-off of provisional ballots to call.

District 72 covers 52 precincts in Floyd County and one in Clark County.

Gibson said “he’s not satisfied in the manner in which the district is being handled.”

“I believe I can offer the voice at the State Capitol to make sure that this district is not ignored or forgotten by Indianapolis.”

The Floyd County Democratic Party will hold off on endorsing a candidate until after the primary, said party chairman John Wilcox.

If Gibson is the only Democrat that steps forward, then he will be the obvious choice of the party, Wilcox said.

“Shane’s a friend, and I’m glad to see him running. I think he’s the sort of person that the system needs,” Wilcox said.