93rd District
Paul Silva, a resident of St. Johns, has officially entered the race to replace Paul Opsommer as State Representative for the 93rd District. The 93rd district comprises all of Clinton and most of Gratiot counties.
Paul is a Marine veteran who served in both Operation Enduring Freedom in Afghanistan and Operation Iraqi Freedom in Kuwait. He is also a graduate of Michigan State University, holding a bachelor’s degree in telecommunications.
“I have entered this race to further my commitment to serving others. As a veteran I swore to serve my country and I would be honored to serve as state representative for the 93rd house district.”
On Saturday, April 21st Paul will be hosting a “Meet the Candidate” event. It will take place between 5-9 PM at Swany’s Pub and Grill in downtown St. Johns.
Silva is a lifelong resident of Michigan. He was born in Saginaw, Michigan and graduated from Bridgeport-Spaulding High School in 1995. He lives in St. Johns with Becky, his wife of three years. Paul and Becky both graduated from Michigan State University, he has a degree in Telecommunications and his wife has a Masters Degree in Social Work. She currently works as a Clinical Specialist in the ACT program for Shiawassee Community Mental Health.
Prior to graduating from college Paul served for five years in the United States Marine Corps as a Special Intelligence Systems Communicator. He graduated boot camp from MCRD San Diego in January 1998. He was assigned to 2nd Radio Battalion, II MEF at Camp Lejeune in North Carolina.
In 2001 Paul was assigned to the 26th Marine Expeditionary Unit. Shipping out just weeks after September 11th, the 26th MEU was a part of the first units to enter Afghanistan as part Operation Enduring Freedom.
In 2003 Paul deployed with the Third Army in CFLCC-Kuwait. He was assigned to the Joint Signals Intelligence\Electronic Warfare unit. The unit was comprised soldiers with the Third Army and British Intelligence working together to gather information on Iraqi forces.
After separating from the Marine Corps, Paul went to Michigan State University. He paid for his education with the GI Bill and working part-time as a bar back and bartender. He graduated in 2006.
He is currently employed as a technical consultant with an IT management firm based in Lansing. He helps small to medium businesses with their IT projects and day to day functions.
Paul began joining veterans groups to fulfill a desire to serve veterans both young and old. He started volunteering for everything that came his way. Today Paul is a member of The Marine Corps League Capital Detachment #148 where he serves as Adjutant, the Veterans of Foreign Wars, The American Legion Post #153, and the Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America. He is always looking for ways to improve the lives of veterans in Michigan.
After serving with veterans groups for awhile, Paul’s attention turned toward politics. He began attending meetings of the Clinton County Democrats and started volunteering there as well. He helped the Communications Committee and when a candidate was needed for a special election, he volunteered to find one. When the treasurer of the party resigned, Paul volunteered for that role as well.
Continuing with his desire to serve, Paul decided to run for office. He is ready to serve his neighbors and state as he has done for his country.
“I have entered this race to further my commitment to serving others. As a veteran I swore to serve my country and I would be honored to serve as state representative for the 93rd house district.” For more information, please visit www.votepaulsilva.com or email info@votepaulsilva.com.