Local News

Two seek seat in West Virginia Senate

Voters in much of the upper Northern Panhandle will be asked to choose from two Republican candidates for state senator when they cast their ballots during early voting or on May 14.

Vying for a seat representing Hancock, Brooke and Ohio counties and part of Marshall County are challenger Scott Adams of Wellsburg and incumbent Ryan Weld of Wellsburg.

The winner of the race currently is unchallenged in the Nov. 5 general election.

Adams served in the West Virginia State Police for 25 years, 13 of them with its Wheeling detachment, which he commanded for nine years, and four of them on its Crimes Against Children Unit, which was part of a federal task force.

He was employed as chief deputy of the Brooke County Sheriff's Office for about five years and investigator for the Ohio County Prosecutor's Office for about two years.

A graduate of Brooke High School and Washington and Jefferson College, he was awarded a four-year ROTC scholarship and was commissioned as a second lieutenant in the Army. As an Army reservist, he served in the 5th Special Forces Group in Iraq in 2002.

A graduate of the West Virginia State Police Academy, he received hundreds of hours of training during his career.

In 2015 he launched the Wellsburg Junior Police Academy, a faith-based summer day camp in which hundreds of youth learned about law enforcement and emergency response.

Adams said if elected, he will promote family values through support of the Parent's and Women's Bill of Rights.

The legislation, which failed to be passed last year, would give power to parents to direct the education of their children and limit legally recognized sexes to male and female, as defined by a person's reproductive system.

He said he would push for improvements to infrastructure, including "badly needed" improvements to U.S. Route 22, state Route 2 and the Market Street Bridge and water distribution and treatment systems and for the establishment of local drug treatment facilities.

"The state of West Virginia received approximately $300 million from the opioid settlement and the Northern Panhandle has received approximately $4 million of those dollars to date. These monies should be used for the treatment of addiction and mental health, which often go hand in hand, in the Northern Panhandle," he said.

Adams added he is pro-life and pro-adoption, saying, "As an adoptive father and a believer that God has a plan for every single life, I don't believe there is any instance where abortion is acceptable."

Weld served for two years in the state House of Delegates and for eight years in the state Senate, where he has served as majority whip, chairman of the military committee and vice chairman of the judiciary committee.

A graduate of Fairmont State University and the Duquesne University School of Law, he practices law with Spilman Thomas & Battle of Wheeling, focusing on litigation matters and estate planning; serves as city attorney for Wellsburg and is a former Brooke County assistant prosecutor.

He served in the Air Force Reserve for six years, working in the U.S. Intelligence Community in Washington, D.C., and as an intelligence officer for an Army-Air Force team in Afghanistan for nine months.

Weld said he's worked to address the substance abuse problem by "strengthening our criminal laws and increasing access to rehabilitation."

He said that's included laws against conspiring to sell drugs " to truly hold accountable dealers who push a significant amount of product into the Ohio Valley."

Weld said he's worked to increase access to treatment for substance abuse and other mental health issues, partnering with behavioral health providers to create clinics offering individuals same-day access.

He said, "The closure of the Market Street Bridge has been extremely frustrating. We will have a new governor next year and hopefully, a new secretary of transportation."

Noting the state is applying for federal funds to replace the span, Weld said, "I want to ensure no one in Charleston loses sight of this project or its importance. Whoever our next governor is, that is who the Division of Highways works for, and I want to continue to hold them accountable for the road system here."

He continued, "The biggest fight I've had in the Senate was over Form Energy, the battery manufacturer now building a 1 million-square-foot factory in Weirton. I grew up in Weirton, so there was no way I was backing down from those who wanted to stop a nearly $500 million investment that would bring over 700 good-paying jobs to this area."

Weld said he will continue to support other economic development projects in the works.

wscott@heraldstaronline.com