Heflin businessman Russell Emrick announces his candidacy for the Alabama Senate District 13.

Emrick, 41, practices law, engineering and operates Emrick-Nolen Feed & Seed. Prior to entering self employment, he served eight years as the county engineer for Cleburne County.

“I have lived in this district and been a contributing citizen since 1988.

My experience working in county government and interacting with other local government entities has given me great insight to the needs of the local people. I hope the combination of my experience will allow me to represent the people with consideration from multiple points of view.”

He said, “Without a quality education, our children fall behind.

As we enter a global market, educational needs and requirements continue to grow at an ever increasing pace.

It is mandatory that we address this need to secure the future and the future of our children. I know well the need for additional highway funding in our communities.

It’s a common sense approach to move our community forward. Roads play a vital role in the overall development of our infrastructure, which in turn impacts local jobs, generates revenue for operating our education system and stimulate the overall development of our communities.” He adds, “I want to bring the power back to our local elected leaders and bring our taxpayer dollars back to work in our communities,” Emrick said.

Emrick understands that, “Large employers are definitely a necessity; however, we should never forget our small businesses and the families they support. I want to assist in the development of our small business environment and thus help improve our communities, increase the number of jobs and promote growth.”

He is running as a conservative, rural Democrat.

Along with being the senior partner of Emrick and Associates, co-owning Prudential SmallTown Realty, LLC, Emrick is also a licensed professional engineer, realtor and forestry producer and has served on the boards of the Cleburne County Department of Human Resources, Cleburne County Building Authority and the Cleburne County Industrial Board.