(Election 2024 - Photo Illustration/MetroCreativeConnection)

POINT PLEASANT — The candidates for the West Virginia Senate’s District 4 are looking at education issues as both are teachers.

Republican incumbent Amy Grady is facing Democrat Dwayne Russell in the race for the State Senate District 4 which covers Mason and Jackson counties and parts of Roane and Putnam counties.

Grady, 44, is a fourth grade teacher in Mason County who is running for her second term in the West Virginia Senate. She was originally elected to the Senate in 2020.

She has been serving as the Senate Education Chair.

“Education is my passion,” she said. “My priorities are always around education and are education related because I want our state to be somewhere our children stay and not leave.

“One of our largest exports in West Virginia has always been our children. When they grow up, they leave the state to go find jobs they really want to do or they have to leave to pursue a career they have dreamed about.”

She wants to make sure they have the opportunities here to be successful. With three children of her own as well as the students she teaches, she wants to make sure they all can have opportunities here.

“My priorities surround education and providing opportunities for our students as they grow,” Grady said.

Her other priorities include improving roads. She has taken drives with Department of Highway district engineers and supervisors three times a year in each county to see where the need is as well as listen to residents about their issues with the roads.

“That is the number-one complaint I get,” she said. “Working to improve our infrastructure and roads is going to be a focus of mine.”

She also wants to work on giving people tax relief and work to eventually eliminate the personal income tax statewide.

“We want to do that responsibly,” Grady said.

Grady said she keeps in contact with the people she serves.

“I want to be a representative the people know they can trust,” she said. “I want to be a representative that people know where my heart is and that I am doing things for the right reasons.

“It is important. If you don’t have a relationship with the people you represent then you are not doing a great job. I want people to know that I cam here for them and my sole purpose as a Senator is to serve for them. I will never forget that.”

Russell, 47, is a music teacher at Beale Elementary and serves as the President of Mason County Education Association (local chapter of the West Virginia Education Association – WVEA). He has served on the town council in Leon for a few years.

He supports public schools and believes things like Hope Scholarships and school vouchers hurt public education. Russell has remained pro-union and pro-choice.

“Reproductive freedom and other health choices are between a patient and her doctor,” he said.

His candidate website highlights a theme of “Together, we are stronger.”

“Dwayne Russell is a dedicated advocate running for the WV State Senate,” his website said. “From local initiatives to global movements, he strives to hold leaders accountable and empower others to take action.”

Russell is a 1995 graduate of Wahama High School. He went on to earn a BA in Music Education from Marshall University in 2000, followed by an MM in Music Education from the University of Kentucky in 2019, according to his website.

“With graduate certificates in Orff Schulwerk and Dalcroze Eurhythmics, Dwayne brings a unique perspective to his work,” his website said. “As a proud member of WVEA and president of his local chapter in Mason County since 2017, Dwayne has been at the forefront of advocating for teachers’ rights.

“His leadership was evident during the West Virginia teacher strike in 2018. Together, we are united by our common goals and dedication to creating positive change.”

Brett Dunlap can be reached at bdunlap@newsandsentinel.com