Local businessman George Lavender said political leadership for Northeast Texas needs to change, and he wants to stand for District 1 in the House of Representatives.

The 52-year-old Republican is a Texarkana native, and a partner in ELLCO Distribution Corp., a wholesale industrial supplier in Texarkana, Ark.

“I was approached again and again by friends, associates and voters throughout the district indicating they wanted new representation in Austin,” he said. “After studying my opponent’s record and talking to voters in House District 1, I found my opponent does not r...