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If you go

n What: Public reception for 2012 gubernatorial candidate Sen. Jeffrey Kessler

n When: 4 p.m. to 5:30 p.m. Thursday

n Where: Holiday Inn Express

Local residents will have the opportunity to meet 2012 gubernatorial candidate and state Sen. Jeffrey Kessler, D-2nd District, during a public reception sponsored by The Inter-Mountain. The event is part of The Inter-Mountain's Service to the Community Program.

The reception, from 4 p.m. to 5:30 p.m. Thursday at the Holiday Inn Express in Elkins, will include beverages and light refreshments. While the event is not an endorsement for any candidate, The Inter-Mountain General Manager Don Smith hopes community members take advantage of the social setting to help make an informed decision about the important 2012 election.

The Inter-Mountain plans to provide several other opportunities for local residents to meet state and local politicians, candidates and other leaders when they are in the area, Smith said.

The senator's visit to Elkins Thursday will also include a stop at Davis & Elkins College to discuss judicial reform in West Virginia. D&E's program in criminology and criminal justice is hosting the talk, which begins at 7 p.m. in Halliehurst. The event is free and open to the public. A public reception will follow the talk in Halliehurst.

On his candidate Web site, www.jeffkessler4gov2012.com, Kessler refers to himself as "The 2012 Candidate with 20/20 Vision."

Kessler resides in Glen Dale with his family and has practiced law in Moundsville. He has also served as city solicitor for Benwood; municipal court judge for the city of McMechen; assistant prosecuting attorney in Marshall County from 1985 to 2000; and as a special prosecutor in Ohio and Wetzel counties. Kessler is admitted to practice law in all of the courts of West Virginia, as well as the Northern and Southern United States District Courts of West Virginia.

In 1997, Kessler was appointed to the West Virginia State Senate for the 2nd Senatorial District. He has since been elected to the office in 1998, 2000, 2004 and 2008. Since the 2003 legislative session, Kessler has served as the chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee. He has also served as vice chairman of the Senate Banking and Insurance Committee and as vice chairman of the Senate Select Committee on Economic Development. In addition to chairing the Judiciary Committee, Kessler currently serves on the Rules, Government Organization, Banking and Insurance, and Energy, Industry and Mining committees.

Kessler was a sponsor of the Economic Development Grant Committee and tax increment financing legislation, which led to the Cabellas project in the Northern Panhandle and other statewide projects. He was an author of the legislation creating the new family court system and domestic relations reform, including shared parenting. He helped draft West Virginia's medical malpractice law and 2003 workers' compensation reform legislation. In 2005, Kessler spearheaded the passage of election law reform which made West Virginia the first state to regulate 527 organizations, according to his Web site. He also served as the Senate chair of the Legislature's Special Investigative Committee on Mine Safety surrounding the Sago Mine disaster.