JonBenet's father may run for Michigan legislature

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Monday, March 8, 2004

BY DAWSON BELL
FREE PRESS STAFF WRITER

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.


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.


Described as a wealthy businessman in the saturation news reports that surrounded the death of his 6-year-old daughter in 1996, Ramsey is associated with a Charlevoix-based directory business. He could not be reached there 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. The Ramseys, John and his wife Patricia, moved to Atlanta in 1997.


According to news reports, the Ramseys filed a $12 million federal lawsuit last year in Atlanta against Fox News Network for an allegedly defamatory report about the case.


But Charlevoix city officials said Monday John Ramsey registered to vote there late last year and filed for a homestead property tax exemption last summer. Ramsey also obtained a Michigan drivers license in October.


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