Steve Holland (politician)

Daniel Stephen Holland (born November 5, 1955) is an American politician who served as a member of the Mississippi House of Representatives from 1985 to 2020, representing the 16th district. He was also a contender for the Democratic nomination in Mississippi's 1st congressional district special election, 2008 but he lost the primary runoff to Travis Childers. He is of Dutch, Italian, and Native American descent.

Steve Holland
Member of the Mississippi House of Representatives
from the 16th district
In office
January 1985 – January 2020
Succeeded byRickey W. Thompson
Personal details
Born
Daniel Stephen Holland

(1955-11-05) November 5, 1955[1]
Tupelo, Mississippi, U.S.
Political partyIndependent (since 2020)[2]
Democratic (until 2020)
SpouseGloria Holland
Residence(s)Plantersville, Mississippi, U.S.
Alma materMississippi State University
ProfessionPolitician, farmer, funeral Home Director

Holland is the son of Judge Sadie Holland, who was allegedly targeted in the 2013 ricin letters incident. James Everett Dutschke, a suspect in the case, unsuccessfully ran against Holland in 2007.[3]

Notable Legislative Incidents

In 2007, he was instrumental to the passage of a "trigger" bill which would ban abortions in the state of Mississippi, should the Supreme Court of the United States overturn its decision in Roe v. Wade, commenting that "he was 'fed up' with the multiple 'nit picky' bills anti-abortion advocates were trying to pass to limit abortions in the state. 'I thought we will settle this once and for all (by introducing legislation to ban abortions if Roe was overturned.) You don’t have to introduce another bill.'"[4]

In 2012, Holland submitted a Bill to the Mississippi Legislature to change the name of the Gulf of Mexico—for all official uses within the state— to the "Gulf of America".[5] This bill is a reflection of Holland's sense of humor, and is his way of criticizing the priorities of the Republicans in the House. Similarly, he co-sponsored a bill in 2017 to donate $1 million to President Donald Trump's proposed border wall, the same year when Mississippi's operating budget was $300 million short.[6]

Career End

On March 24, 2017 Holland announced that his doctors had diagnosed him with dementia, and that he would not seek re-election at the end of his term in 2019.[7] However, in 2019 Holland announced that he would seek his 10th term for the State Legislature as an Independent.[8] He was defeated by Democratic candidate Rickey W. Thompson.

Holland's switch in party affiliation was speculated to be an attempt at avoiding a defeat to Thompson in the Democratic primaries, with the Daily Journal noting that Holland had "outspokenly identified as liberal" and, if victorious as an Independent, would have nonetheless been "certain to caucus with Democrats."[2]

References
  1. djournal.com: 2008 Voter's Guide Archived September 9, 2008, at the Wayback Machine
  2. Bedillion, Caleb (March 3, 2019). "Party switches come as qualifying ends". Northeast Mississippi Daily Journal. Retrieved April 18, 2023.
  3. Robertson, Campbell; Howle, Cynthia (April 24, 2013). "2 Tangled Lives Collide, Again, in Ricin Case". The New York Times. Retrieved April 25, 2013.
  4. "Key state Democrats helped pass 2007 law to ban abortions if Roe overturned". June 29, 2018. Retrieved December 8, 2021.
  5. "HOUSE BILL NO. 150" (PDF). Mississippi House of Representatives. Retrieved January 28, 2014.
  6. "Lawmaker: Mississippi should give $1 million for U.S.-Mexico wall". January 31, 2017.
  7. "Rep. Holland vows to soldier on after dementia diagnosis - Daily Journal". Archived from the original on March 25, 2017.
  8. "Third party, independent candidates look beyond two-party dominance".


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