David Darby formally announced his candidacy for the Democratic nomination to the Alabama House of Representatives District 92 in an event held in the city hall auditorium Tuesday morning.

In making his announcement, Darby highlighted the values he’s learned as a small businessman and a leader in his profession.

“The principles of efficiency, stewardship and responsiveness are lacking in our government today. We need more businessmen in Montgomery to make government work better for the people it serves.”

Darby said the No. 1 issue facing the district and the state is job creation. If elected, he said, he plans to work with the education system to retrain displaced workers. The long-term answer to job creation relies on reducing the drop-out rate and providing incentives for students to continue their education, he said, emphasizing the role that the community colleges play.

“The skills of the last century will serve us no purpose in this century,” he said. “We have to make government work for the people who have lost their livelihood. Education and training will make a difference in your life. I know it; I have seen it and I have lived it.”

Darby said he believes government is failing its moral test.

Referring to another pharmacist legislator, he said the moral test of government is how it treats is citizens in the dawn of life, the twilight of life and in the shadows of life.

“When I am in Montgomery, I will serve the people’s interest, not the special interests,” he said.

Darby has been a local pharmacist for 27 years and owns Darby’s Village Pharmacy where he works with his wife, Laura. They have two children, Laura and Stephen, both students at Auburn University.

The Democratic primary will be held on June 1.