MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — College professor, county assessor, then retired — but it was in retirement that Rodney Pyles found a new calling: serving the 51st District of West Virginia’s House of Delegates.
Pyles ran and won a seat in 2016, one of three Democrats sent to Charleston to represent Monongalia County.
And, now 73, Pyles has no intention of slowing down.
“I will continue to be an advocate for historic preservation and for senior citizens and for minority rights and for students and for education, and I think my record shows that I really made an effort to advance these issues,” he said Thursday on WAJR’s Morgantown AM.
Pyles said he remains hopeful that Gov. Justice’s $100 million PEIA pledge and new pay raise plan for state workers is seen to fruition.
“You know, we just have to wait and see if the money is there in January,” Pyles said.
The former college professor and long-time Monongalia County Assessor touted his experience and his continued advocacy for seniors as a reason voters should give him another term at the Capitol.
“I would certainly be an active voice for senior citizens in the Legislature,” Pyles said. “I’m a senior citizen myself at age 73 — and it’s hard to believe — but I certainly want to exempt Social Security income from the state income tax.”
Pyles also touted a number of pieces of successful legislation in his message that he gets things accomplished.
“One of those was the bill creating the joint airport authority for the city and the county, which I think will benefit the expansion of the airport and the lengthening of the runway.”
You can heard the full interview with Pyles in the podcast section of our website or download the podcast on iTunes.