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Voters in Hancock, Brooke, Ohio and Marshall counties have a choice between two candidates seeking to represent the area in the West Virginia Senate.
They are Republican incumbent Ryan Weld of Wellsburg and Democratic challenger Randy Swartzmiller of Chester.
A Weirton native and long-time Wellsburg resident, Weld served for two years in the state House of Delegates before being elected in 2015 to the Senate, where he is the Republican majority whip and chairman of the Senate military committee and vice chairman of the judiciary committee. He also has served on committees on banking and insurance, confirmations and health and human resources.
He served as an Air Force intelligence officer in Afghanistan and as executive officer to the director of the Office of Congressional Affairs for the Defense Intelligence Agency in Washington.
A graduate of Fairmont State University and the Duquesne University School of Law, Weld is an associate with the Wheeling law firm of Spilman, Thomas & Battle and Wellsburg's city solicitor.
He said if re-elected, he would address the drug problem by pushing for stricter penalties for drug dealers and greater access to treatment for those struggling with addiction.
Weld said he'd work to ensure veterans have access to medical and other services and push for more accountability from the governor's office for road maintenance and repairs, saying " unfortunately we're currently playing catch up on too many years of neglect of basic maintenance."
Swartzmiller represented the 1st District in the state House of Delegates from 2000 to 2014 and 2018 to 2020, completing his current two-year term this year. He has chaired its homeland security committee and served as assistant majority whip and speaker pro tempore and on committees for natural resources and agriculture and education.
A Hancock County native and steelworker for 20 years, he has been employed Ergon-WV Inc. for 16 years. He holds bachelor's and master's degrees from West Liberty State College and Mountain State University, respectively.
Swartzmiller said if elected to the Senate, he would push for better maintenance of secondary roads, many of which are in "deplorable" condition and suffer from slips and slides; and seek federal dollars to support the expansion of broadband Internet access, especially for rural areas of the Northern Panhandle.
He said he'd also work with others to move forward with the legalization of medical marijuana, saying it has been shown to help people with seizures, post-traumatic stress disorder, cancer and other health conditions; and will bring millions of dollars and jobs to the state through the establishment of marijuana farms and processing facilities.
(Scott can be contacted at wscott@heraldstaronline.com.)