SURRY – Jonathan W. Walden of Surry has announced that he is a Republican candidate for the District 37 seat in the Maine House of Representatives.

Walden, 34, is a Maine native. He said he worked for nine years at the Hannaford Bros. warehouse in South Portland and attended the University of Southern Maine for two years, majoring in business administration. He also has worked as a kitchen manager for three different restaurants.

“The state government needs to be proactive in supporting industry in Maine,” Walden said. “I believe that our energy industry is capable of supporting substantial economic growth and jobs in Maine even in these financially difficult times.”

He said Maine Maritime Academy and industry professionals are looking at ways to efficiently generate electricity from the Bagaduce River and Castine Harbor. “With this technology, tidal power in Maine could generate enough clean, inexhaustible energy to power the state while creating many high-skilled manufacturing and maintenance jobs for Maine’s citizens,” he said.

Walden added that he is “dead set against any legislation which limits individual municipal control of our schools. If elected, I will fight, without apology, to repeal the school consolidation law.”

Walden is married and has two sons and a daughter.

District 37 includes the towns of Blue Hill, Brooksville, Castine, Penobscot, Sedgwick and Surry.