By Staff
Jonathan Willis
Russellville City Councilman Jeff Masterson qualified Monday to run against State Rep. Johnny Mack Morrow in the June Democratic primary for the House District 18 seat.
Morrow has held that seat for 20 years.
District 18 includes all of Franklin County and the western portion of Colbert County. It also includes the Littleville and Colbert Heights areas of Colbert County.
Masterson is in his first term on the Russellville City Council and has been a strong advocate of the city’s school system since taking office.
Masterson said he hopes voters look at his record of fighting for the city school system and see that he would do the same for the county systems in the district.
Education and new jobs are the two key issues Masterson sees in this race.
The decision to run for state representative is something Masterson had been thinking about, and after being prodded by several constituents, he decided to qualify this week, he said.
Masterson has been a retail and agri-business owner for years and has been employed with Norfolk Southern Railway for 20 years. During that time, he has served as the labor representative for the local union. He is also an advisory board member at Community Spirit Bank.
He is married to Leah Hester Masterson and the couple has two children, Julie, 14, and Jill, 12.