Landrum says he’s no D.C. insider
When Rep. Chip Pickering vacates his 3rd District seat in Congress in 2008, there will be an ample supply of people aiming to replace him.
Businessman David Landrum, 52, is on that list.
Landrum, a Republican has said he’ll be “rolling out” his legislative agenda over the next three months and talking about which committees in Congress he’s interested in serving on, but he is waiting for the proper moment.
“We want to be specific but it’s just a matter of the right timing for that,” he told the Enterprise-Journal.
Having held no political office before, Landrum said he anticipates some criticism over inexperience, but hopes his background will be a strength rather than a weakness.
“I feel like I’m coming more from a business background instead of the political,” he said. “I’m not a lawyer, I’m not a bureaucrat, I’m not a politician, but I do know how to make payroll and run a business.”
In other words, he said, being a Beltway insider isn’t everything.
“There’s a mindset, I feel, in political circles, that if you haven’t been involved in politics you don’t deserve to serve,” Landrum explained. “What I’m promoting is common sense business leadership to Washington. I’m not going to Washington to become part of the political furniture. … I can see that really, everything I’ve done has prepared me for this.”
Landrum said his ventures have allowed him to feel out a variety of civic and business leadership roles. He’s served in the U.S. Army, helped Georgia-based financial company Primerica spread, worked on residential development for Madison County, served on the Mississippi College Board and participated in Mission Mississippi, a racial reconciliation group.
He said his business background shapes portions of his platform: Landrum wants to maintain the Bush tax cuts and rein in spending. He also talks about investment in infrastructure, such as road systems, industrial sites and education while cutting spending overall.
“Every family in America has to live within a budget. All I’m saying is the government should do the same.”
Of course, his target for cuts is pork-barrel spending, which he admits can make voting on bills complicated when unrelated items are attached.“That’s where if you had a line-item veto, that would be very good,” he said. “I’m not gonna pile on the pork, I can promise you that.”
Enterprise Journal
12/26/7
Magnolia Tribune
