John R. Kelly (born September 23, 1946) is an American

Republican Party Republican Party is a name used by many political parties around the world, though the term most commonly refers to the United States' Republican Party. Republican Party may also refer to: Africa *Republican Party (Liberia) * Republican Part ...

politician, who has represented Wood County in the

West Virginia House of Delegates The West Virginia House of Delegates is the lower house of the West Virginia Legislature. Only three states—Maryland, Virginia and West Virginia—refer to their lower house as the House of Delegates. Organization Regular sessions begin with ...

since 2014.

Early life

John R. Kelly was born on September 23, 1946 in

Parkersburg, West Virginia Parkersburg is a city in and the county seat of Wood County, West Virginia, Wood County, West Virginia. Located at the confluence of the Ohio River, Ohio and Little Kanawha River, Little Kanawha rivers, it is the state's fourth-largest city and ...

. He attended

Glenville State College Glenville State University (GSU) is a public college in Glenville, West Virginia. History Glenville State University was founded in 1872 as a branch of West Virginia Normal School. It became known as Glenville State Normal School. It served the ...

, Parkersburg Community College and

Mountain State University Mountain State University (MSU) was a private university in Beckley, West Virginia. It closed in 2013. It was formerly named Beckley College and then The College of West Virginia. Its Beckley campus is now occupied by West Virginia University ...

. He was in the

United States Air Force The United States Air Force (USAF) is the air service branch of the United States Armed Forces, and is one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Originally created on 1 August 1907, as a part of the United States Army Signal ...

from August 1967 to February 1971. While in the Air Force, he was as an

honor guard A guard of honour ( GB), also honor guard ( US), also ceremonial guard, is a group of people, usually military in nature, appointed to receive or guard a head of state or other dignitaries, the fallen in war, or to attend at state ceremonials, ...

from December 1968 until February 1971 and served at the

Tomb of the Unknown Soldier A Tomb of the Unknown Soldier or Tomb of the Unknown Warrior is a monument dedicated to the services of an unknown soldier and to the common memories of all soldiers killed in war. Such tombs can be found in many nations and are usually high-prof ...

Political career

Kelly was a member of the Parkersburg City Council from 1985 to 1996 and from 2013 to 2014. He was first elected to the

in 2014. As of 2021 he is chair of the House of Delegates' interim committee on

natural gas Natural gas (also called fossil gas or simply gas) is a naturally occurring mixture of gaseous hydrocarbons consisting primarily of methane in addition to various smaller amounts of other higher alkanes. Low levels of trace gases like carbo ...

development.

Critical Infrastructure Protection Act

In 2020 Kelly sponsored the Critical Infrastructure Protection Act, which created

felony A felony is traditionally considered a crime of high seriousness, whereas a misdemeanor is regarded as less serious. The term "felony" originated from English common law (from the French medieval word "félonie") to describe an offense that resu ...

penalties for protests targeting oil and gas facilities. The law, which was passed with the support of

Dominion Energy Dominion Energy, Inc., commonly referred to as Dominion, is a North American power and energy company headquartered in Richmond, Virginia that supplies electricity in parts of Virginia, North Carolina, and South Carolina and supplies natural gas t ...

, the West Virginia Oil and Natural Gas Association, and the

American Fuel and Petrochemical Manufacturers American Fuel and Petrochemical Manufacturers (AFPM) is an American trade association, founded in 1902 as the National Petroleum Association. It became the National Petroleum Refiners Association in 1961, the National Petrochemical & Refiners Ass ...

trade association, was described by Kelly as having been "requested by the natural gas industry".

Election results

Kelly was one of three candidates elected to represent the 10th district in

2018 File:2018 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2018 Winter Olympics opening ceremony in PyeongChang, South Korea; Protests erupt following the Assassination of Jamal Khashoggi; March for Our Lives protests take place across the United ...

, with 20 percent of the vote, alongside fellow Republicans Tom Azinger and

Vernon Criss Vernon Criss (born September 25, 1954) is an American politician who has served in the West Virginia House of Delegates The West Virginia House of Delegates is the lower house of the West Virginia Legislature. Only three states—Maryland, Vi ...

. He was again one of three Republicans elected to represent to the 10th district in

2020 2020 was heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to global Social impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, social and Economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, economic disruption, mass cancellations and postponements of events, COVID- ...

, along with Criss and

Roger Conley Roger Conley (born September 9, 1956) is an American politician who served as a Delegate from the 10th district to the West Virginia House of Delegates from 2020 to 2022. Conley is a Republican. Early life, education, and career Conley was bor ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kelly, John R. 1946 births Living people 21st-century American politicians Republican Party members of the West Virginia House of Delegates People from Parkersburg, West Virginia Glenville State College alumni West Virginia University at Parkersburg alumni United States Air Force airmen Mountain State University alumni