One DeKalb County democrat and three republicans are slated to run for John Countryman’s vacant seat in the state legislature during the March 20 primary election.

The lone democrat listed on the ticket is Bob Tisch, a second-year NIU law student. Tisch, NIU’s student regent, said he plans to formally announce his candidacy at a Thursday press conference at 8 a.m. in Room 503 of the Holmes Student Center.

Tisch said he is running because, “my political experience tells me that the voters are ready to hear some messages they haven’t heard.”

DeKalb County Republican Party Chairman Jack Felver announced his candidacy in December 1989. Felver has served as NIU’s associate director of Student Housing Services for 24 years.

If elected, NIU will give Felver a two-year leave of absence, he said.

Felver said he is interested in the state representative’s job because he has “been involved with politics for a long time, and I know the district and can do the job well.”

Felver said as state representative his goal would be to establish quality funding for all levels of education.

While serving as housing director, Felver established special option floors such as the foreign language, music and computer science floors.

Somonauk Attorney Charles Marshall, a republican candidate, said running for the General Assembly is “something I’ve always secretly wanted to do—but the time and circumstances were never appropriate.”

When Countryman decided not to run in 1990, Marshall said a number of people asked him to consider the position.

Republican candidate Brad Burzynski, DeKalb, said he is the DeKalb Farm Bureau Governmental Affairs director.

Burzynski said, “in that role I monitor county and local units of government to try and have input into local budgeting processes and issues that affect DeKalb County.”

He said he has worked on county land use issues so the farm bureau can have input on zoning in rural areas.