Democratic Missouri State Representative Bill Otto announced Tuesday that he is running for the United States House of Representatives.
He said he intends to run to represent Missouri’s 2nd Congressional District, which covers most of the suburbs west and south of St. Louis.
“I’ve been a state representative for two cycles now, through three sessions, and I’ve learned an awful lot about constituent service and responding to people," Otto said. " And it’s just something I feel like I have a passion for and I think that I can apply the same techniques and learning lessons at the federal level.”
He also said that one of the major issues he will address is concerns about the radioactive contamination of landfills in the St. Louis suburb of Bridgeton.
“This affects the 2nd congressional more than anything else, any other district, and it should be number one on the list. People in St. Louis County government understand how important this issue is. It needs to be taken more seriously at the federal issue and that’s a very very important piece for me." Otto said.
Otto, D-Maryland Heights, was elected to the Missouri State house in 2012. He previously served in the Navy and worked as an air traffic controller.
Missouri’s 2nd Congressional District seat has been held by Republican Ann Wagner since 2013.