Junior “JR” Wolfe.
Political Party: Democrat
Age: 58
Residence: Bruceton Mills
Family: Wife Cheryl, two sons and four grandchildren.
Education: 1980, Central Preston High School; 1995, WVU, B.S., agriculture major in agronomy.
Professional experience: Veterinary technician, two years; school bus driver, two years; USDA Natural Resources Conservation Worker’s Career Center, 33 years.
Political and civic experience: I have been a member of Rotary International since 2002. During that period, I led a team to the Philippines, where we stayed for a month, sharing with Rotarians there about our governments, our culture and our home lives. I served as president of my Rotary Club and then as district governor for northern West Virginia. As district governor, I visited over 30 clubs in the district and shared in the work they were doing in their communities. I also attended international conferences in Lisbon, Bangkok and Sydney.
Why did you decide to seek office?
I decided to run to try to change the direction the state legislature was taking on many issues. I believe West Virginia can do much better than it has in the past. It only needs a new vision of what it takes for everyone in the state to prosper. I was emboldened by meeting members of the West Virginia Can’t Wait coalition and decided that, as a group, we could make a difference for our state.
What is the most important issue you believe your office will face in the next year, and how will you address it?
Education is the most important issue. We need our kids to learn how to succeed in our rapidly changing world. I think a better education system in the state will also help attract businesses and create jobs.
Following close behind are infrastructure and the opioid drug crises as well as health care. There is a lot to do and we don’t need to be wasting time during the session on nonsense legislation.
Terri Funk Sypolt
Political party: Republican
Age: 66.
Residence: Kingwood area
Family: Together, Dave and I have five adult children, nine grandchildren and two great grandchildren. I am one of the very fortunate West Virginians that my two sons, five grandchildren and two great-grandchildren are all living in Preston County.
Education: Newburg High School, 1971; Fairmont State University, leadership and management; Licensed Real Estate Agent (inactive); IAAO Courses and Appraisal Courses by the State Tax Department.
Professional experience: The past four years I have been your conservative voice, as promised, by addressing the drug problem, improving the foster care system, including the kinship and grandfamilies programs, making improvements to the educational system, protecting the unborn, helping seniors, veterans and first responders, working on getting our citizens back to work with educational and transportation assistance, also, protecting your 2nd Amendment rights and working toward better roads. This is not a part time job.
Political and civic experience:
Political — Four years West Virginia State Delegate, 16 years as Preston County Assessor (total 38 years in the assessor’s office).
Civic — Member of the Kingwood Lions Club, previous Valley District Lions Club Member; member of Gladesville CEOs; member of Preston County and West Virginia Farm Bureau; charter member of the Preston County FFA Alumni; member of Preston County Chamber of Commerce, former board member; member of the NRA, Mountaineer Friends of the NRA and the West Virginia Citizens Defense League.
Why did you decide to seek office?
My dedication is to make West Virginia a better place to live, work and raise a family. During the past four years, I have worked with constituents, agencies and legislators to accomplish this goal, but my work in the Legislature is far from over. If you have ever listened to discussion/debates on the house floor, it is evident that we need someone who will vote for Preston County conservatives’ values.
What is the most important issue you believe is facing West Virginia and how would you fix it?
My goal is to make West Virginia a better place to live, work and raise a family. No one can go to Charleston and expect success by working on a single issue, as all our problems are interrelated from improving educational opportunities, improving roads and utility infrastructure, especially broadband. I have and will continue to work with legislators, agencies and constituents to accomplish these goals.
