Jamie Kiel qualifies for state representative race

Russellville native and longtime businessman Jamie Kiel has officially qualified to run on the Republican ticket for State House District 18 representative.

This is the first time Kiel has run for a political position, but he said he has always been interested in state politics specifically and believes his business background will be beneficial to him.

“I believe that businesspeople should be more involved in politics. They both require some of the same principles,” Kiel said.

He has owned Kiel Equipment for 22 years and said he believes that critical parts of his job there, including balancing a budget and making out a payroll, would also apply to the representative role.

“The government doesn’t necessarily need more money; we just need to make it more effective. That’s what businesspeople do and people that run a household do, and the government should do the same,” he explained.

One thing Kiel said he would like to do in office is cut back on what he considers unnecessary regulations on small businesses.

“The red tape of bureaucracy is very expensive and costs businesses money. I want to try and streamline that and take away the red tape,” Kiel said.

Education is another topic about which Kiel is passionate. His wife is a reading intervention teacher at Tharptown Elementary School, and he has three children in school in Franklin County.

“I want to make sure the money that is going to Montgomery is actually going back into the classrooms,” Kiel said.

The opioid crisis is something that Kiel calls an “epidemic.” “It affects almost everyone. I’ll do whatever possible to investigate and pass laws to help end it,” he said.

When he’s not running his business or campaigning, Kiel said he enjoys coaching his daughters’ youth basketball teams at Tharptown. He also announces football games on Friday nights and occasionally appears on radio shows during the post-season.

Kiel has also taken the time to visit Tharptown Elementary School and Red Bay School to talk to students about how laws are made.

“A lot of people don’t understand how our laws are actually made. So I divided the students up into the House and the Senate and showed them how a law moves through the system,” Kiel said.

He classifies himself as a very conservative person who is pro-life, pro-second amendment and pro-business.

Kiel will run against candidate Tony Riley on the Republican ticket.