Carl Ray Russell

Carl "Ray" Russell (born March 22, 1957) is a former member of the North Carolina General Assembly, who represented the State's 93rd House district (comprising Watauga and Ashe Counties) from 2019 until 2021. He has taught at Appalachian State University since 1991, first in the Mathematics department and later in the Computer Science department.[1] Self-taught in meteorology, Russell founded the popular regional weather website, Ray's Weather Center (RaysWeather.com).[2][3] In 2016, Russell ran the entire length of the Blue Ridge Parkway to raise money for the Blue Ridge Parkway Foundation.[4]

Carl "Ray" Russell
Member of the North Carolina House of Representatives from the 93rd district
In office January 1, 2019 – January 1, 2021
Preceded by	Jonathan Jordan
Succeeded by	Ray Pickett
Personal details
Born	March 22, 1957 Manchester, Tennessee, U.S.
Political party	Democratic
Spouse(s)	Rhonda Russell
Residence	Boone, North Carolina, U.S.
Alma mater	Freed-Hardeman University Memphis State University Georgia Institute of Technology
Occupation	Professor
Website	rayfornc.com

Education

Russell earned bachelor's degrees in computer science and religion at Freed-Hardeman College in 1979, a MS in computer science at Georgia Institute of Technology in 1985, a MS in mathematics at Memphis State University in 1982, and a Ph. D. in computer science at Georgia Institute of Technology in 1989.[1]

Political career

Russell, a Democrat, defeated incumbent Republican Jonathan Jordan on November 6th, 2018.[5] Russell won by a margin of 52 percent to 48 percent of Jordan.[6][7] In the 2020 Democratic Primary, Russell defeated challenger Turner Doolittle by a margin of 88 percent to 12 percent.[8]

He was defeated for re-election in 2020 by Republican challenger Ray Pickett.

References

1. "C. Ray Russell Curriculum Vita". www.cs.appstate.edu. Retrieved 2019-02-12.
2. Daddio, Jess (2016-01-21). "The Man Behind RaysWeather.com". Blue Ridge Outdoors Magazine. Retrieved 2019-02-12.
3. O’Donnell, Lisa (Nov 11, 2018). "Strong showing at ASU, in Ashe County helped weatherman flip N.C. House seat". Winston-Salem Journal. Retrieved 2019-02-12.
4. "Relay With Ray – Celebrating the Blue Ridge Parkway in the Centennial Year of the National Park Service". Retrieved 2019-02-12.
5. WRAL. "Democrats break veto-proof majority in General Assembly". wral.com. Retrieved 9 November 2018.
6. "North Carolina Election Results – Election Results 2018 – The New York Times". nytimes.com. Retrieved 9 November 2018.
7. "NC SBE Contest Results". er.ncsbe.gov. Retrieved 2019-02-12.
8. https://ballotpedia.org/Ray_Russell

External links