U.S. Rep. Travis Childers, D-Miss., says he”s not on the campaign trail yet, but he was on the move in Columbus Thursday.
Childers, Mississippi”s First Congressional District representative, was at Microtek manufacturing Thursday at the invitation of Microtek Manager Beth Jolly, Ecolab Manager Jim Stroupe and corporate members of both companies to tour the facilities and meet with employees.
He said his team hasn”t begun focusing on November”s general election, even after Sen. Alan Nunnelee, R-Tupelo, won the Republican primary June 1.
“We have not kicked off our official campaign because we wanted (the Republicans) to get their primary out of the way. There will be due time to campaign,” said Childers.
Nunnelee, he said, poses no unique challenges as an opponent.
“We believe North Mississippians will respond to the independent voice we”ve been in Washington. We”ve been one of the few who will work across the line. We think for ourselves and I don”t have to lean on a party to guide or tell me how to vote. I have voted in the best interest of Mississippians,” he said.
But the impending campaign against Nunnelee was beside the point Thursday. Childers sat down with executives from Microtek and Ecolab, which have formed a partnership and share Microtek”s facilities. Microtek manufactures medical devices and materials, such as plastic sheaths for the DaVinci surgical robot system, and Ecolab produces chemical cleaning supplies. The DaVinci is a robotic- and computer- assisted platform for surgery.
Microtek managers expressed concern that a 13 percent tax on medical devices included in the recently passed federal health care bill would hurt the 26-year-old company, and representatives from both sides spoke about the mounting competition coming from overseas manufacturers who aren”t subjected to similar government regulations and scrutiny.
The trip was Childers” first to the Columbus Microtek facility. He expressed his desire to help the companies and show his appreciation for the 240 jobs they bring to Lowndes County.
“I noticed they”re selling some products to the military,” said Childers. “(Congress) has signed on to several (military) deals since we”ve been (in session). We believe in buying American first. And let”s buy American for our military first and foremost. I”ll continue to support that.”
Before leaving the facility, Childers made some brief remarks before approximately 50 Microtek and Ecolab employees.
“I”m home on a district workweek this week, and I wanted to see what you all do here and offer myself to see if I can help,” he told the employees.
Childers fielded questions from the employees regarding animal cruelty laws, immigration laws and partisan politics.
“I hope y”all have noticed I haven”t fallen into that trap,” he said of partisan politics. “I”m committed to work with Republicans and Democrats.”
Jason Browne was previously a reporter for The Dispatch.
You can help your community
Quality, in-depth journalism is essential to a healthy community. The Dispatch brings you the most complete reporting and insightful commentary in the Golden Triangle, but we need your help to continue our efforts. In the past week, our reporters have posted 32 articles to cdispatch.com. Please consider subscribing to our website for only $2.30 per week to help support local journalism and our community.