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WHEELING - Voters on Tuesday elected a new member to represent District 4 in the West Virginia House of Delegates.
Republican Derek Ennis defeated Democrat Joe Jividen to win the contest. Election night totals showed Ennis receiving 3,184 votes; and Jividen, 2,903.
The last person elected to the seat, Republican Bill Flanigan, was elected to the West Virginia Supreme Court earlier this year and resigned his House seat.
Current Delegate Shane Stack, R-Ohio, was appointed to fill out the remainder of Flanigan’s term.
"Thank you for your support, and the support in the campaign," Ennis said to voters.
He believes "sincerity" and "due diligence" are what put him over.
"Also, making all the contacts that I could about the issues that mean a lot to me (were a factor)," Ennis continued. "That number one issue is family court. We need reform and change so that the children are put first through the whole process."
Ennis hopes to continue to meet new people and take in new information as he continues in politics.
"I want to continue learning about the legislative process and how I can make a positive impact on day one," he said.
Ennis grew up in West Liberty and graduated from Wheeling Park High School in 1997. He attended West Liberty University before transferring to Marshall University, where he earned a master’s degree in safety management.
Ennis started in construction and was the construction manager for the company that built the AEP chimney in Marshall County. Next, he moved on to the mining industry to work for CONSOL. He spent more than 13 years with a mine safety job in the mining industry, during which time CONSOL was sold to Murray Energy.
While at CONSOL, Ennis got involved with the Fire Brigades Mine Protection, a group of underground first responders, mine rescue and search teams. He served as the corporate trainer for the program at Murray Energy.
Later, his position at Murray Energy was eliminated during corporate restructuring. Today he sells a product that cleans air in manufacturing settings.