Thomas Casler, running for House of Representatives in North Dakota, District 27
Thomas sees a need in his district for legislators to care more about the communities and people that they represent. We learned that this district was recently re-districted, leaving an open seat and an opportunity for Thomas to run.
Thomas grew up in North Dakota and knows his community well. He met his wife at North Dakota State University and now has two children! He says that he has always enjoyed politics, but never thought about the possibility of becoming a candidate until recently. The event that sparked this change of thinking was when the universal hot lunch program was discontinued within his state. Having two kids in the local school district, he feels a connection to this topic and wants to work to bring back hot lunches for all school children.
We learned that this district is one of the fastest growing areas in the country. Thomas says that the newer people in the community struggle because of high property taxes and lack of childcare while the long-time residents are worried about losing their homes due to these taxes. Thomas wants to make sure that young people can build lives here and that older residents don’t have to worry about getting squeezed out of their communities. North Dakota actually has a legacy fund, meaning that there is extra money that can be put towards the right programs. Thomas aims to use these funds to reinstate free school lunches without raising taxes.
Thomas says that North Dakota has wonderful communities and within his town, South Fargo, there is a great, inclusive network of people! There are new families settling in, along with older residents who have been in the state for generations. Thomas also told us that there are many beautiful and different types of places in North Dakota for people to experience!
Thomas has two cats who he rescued. He is still very involved with his college fraternity and one of his passions is being a mentor to younger generations through fraternity programs. He has two children who take up a lot of his time along with an amazing wife! For Thomas, campaigning for this position is very rewarding and he hopes that he can create great changes for his state.