Father of JonBenet may run for office: He ponders campaign for the Michigan House

Freep ^ | 3-9-2004 | DAWSON BELL

[Hillary's Lovely Legs]

LANSING -- John Ramsey, father of slain child pageant star JonBenet, is seriously considering a run for the Michigan House of Representatives.

Ramsey has established residency in Charlevoix, where he has long vacationed, and has indicated he wants to succeed term-limited state Rep. Ken Bradstreet, R-Gaylord, said Matt Resch, spokesman for House Speaker Rick Johnson, R-LeRoy.

Ramsey is being urged to run by local Republican officials in Charlevoix, according to a report in Monday's edition of the newsletter Inside Michigan Politics.

Resch said Ramsey has not been recruited by the House Republican caucus.

Described as a wealthy businessman in the news reports that surrounded the death of his 6-year-old daughter in 1996, Ramsey is associated with a Charlevoix-based business that produces directories. He did not return phone calls Monday afternoon.

The mysterious slaying of JonBenet Ramsey dominated cable networks and the tabloids for several years, much of the coverage laden with insinuation about whether the Ramseys were implicated in her death. The case remains unsolved. John Ramsey and his wife, Patricia, moved to Atlanta in 1997.

The Ramseys filed a $12-million federal lawsuit last year in Atlanta against Fox News Network for an allegedly defamatory report about the case.

Charlevoix city officials said Monday that John Ramsey registered to vote there late last year and filed for a homestead property tax exemption last summer. Ramsey also obtained a Michigan driver's license in October. Patricia Ramsey also registered to vote in Charlevoix at about the same time.

John Ramsey has not yet filed paperwork to run for the House seat. The deadline is May 11.

The 105th District, which Bradstreet represents, covers all of Otsego, Antrim, and Charlevoix counties and most of Cheboygan County in northern Michigan.

[twigs]

I don't believe they killed her, but I think they know who did. No, Repubs don't need these type of people on any ticket. Personally, I hope that if he runs it will bring the kind of media scrutiny that will find the clues that will solve JonBenet's murder. She deserved better parents.