Published: February 02, 2008 10:37 pm         

Monroe County man announces his candidacy for state Senate

James W. “Jim” McNeely has announced his candidacy for the Democratic nomination for the state Senate, 10th District.

McNeely, 61, has lived in Monroe County since 1994, first in Greenville and more recently in Peterstown. He lived in Mercer County from childhood until 1994, with the exception of time spent in the military, in school or working for the state Supreme Court.

He is a 1964 graduate of Bluefield High School and a 1973 graduate of Concord University (B.S. in education). He was president of the Concord Alumni Association for three terms (1989-92), was one of those walking the entire “Quest For Scholars” in 1987 and was the 1992 Alumni of the Year. He is also a 1981 graduate of Virginia Tech (M.A., political science public administration) and received a law degree from WVU in 1986, graduating in the top 10 percent of his class and being invited to join the West Virginia Law Review.

McNeely retired in 2007 at age 60 as prosecuting attorney of Summers County after being elected in 2000 and re-elected in 2004, and continues to practice law on a limited basis. He has worked as a West Virginia attorney for more than 20 years, practicing in federal/state courts and in administrative law. Operating his own independent practice, he has represented individuals, corporations, local governments, unions, churches and community groups.

Before receiving his law degree, McNeely was an elementary school teacher and a community development director and city police judge for Princeton.

McNeely has considerable legislative experience. He was first elected to the West Virginia House of Delegates in 1974, at the age of 27, and was elected to four terms in the House during the 1970s and ’80s to represent, at various times, Mercer, Summers, Monroe and part of Wyoming counties in the former 19th and 20th districts. His committee assignments included Judiciary and Education, and he served as the chairman of the Higher Education Subcommittee of the House Education Committee.

In the military, he served as an artillery officer in Vietnam in 1969, and serv-ed in the West Virginia National Guard through the early 1980s. He served as commander of the Hinton/ Ronceverte guard unit in the late ’70s and early ’80s.

Considering himself a well-qualified candidate with a wide range of experience in the military, in the private sector and in all branches and levels of government, McNeely says he will bring that wealth of knowledge and experience to the Senate.