Republican Louisville Metro Councilman Jerry Miller is running for a newly drawn state House district seat in next year's election.District 36 is an open seat that was created during the special legislative session as part of the long-delayed redistricting plan based on the 2010 census.According to the map, District 36 covers parts of east Louisville such the Eastwood, Fisherville and Lake Forest areas, and extends to south Pewee Valley in Oldham County.Miller says he will serve out the remainder of his council term, but wants to take his advocacy for more fiscal responsibility and lower taxes to the General Assembly."I really felt that the issues that I cared most deeply about, which are pension reform, education, ethics. And particularly if we move down the path toward the local option sales tax it’s got to go through Frankfort before it can happen. So I want to be there," he says.Miller was first elected to the Metro Council in 2010, where he has been a proponent of tougher ethics rules and discretionary spending reforms. He previously served as commissioner of the state parks system in former Gov. Ernie Fletcher’s administration.The announcement means Miller will not be able to run for re-election on the council, and it will open up the East End District 19 council seat in 2014. That seat was previously represented by Hal Heiner, who unsuccessfully ran for mayor in 2010, and is a rumored gubernatorial candidate.Democrats hold the House majority by a 5-seat margin, but that GOP has made gains in recent years in an attempt to take the chamber over. And it's something Miller anticipates could happen in the next election cycle."I am fully expecting to get so close that some of the more conservative Democrats who are just tired of the Obama agenda are going to be coming over to our side of the aisle," says Miller. "So if we get a little close to 50 or maybe right at 50, I believe some of the Democratic officeholders will come across the aisle."
