Russell G. Mobley, known as Russ Mobley (born November 18, 1933) is a Republican

Republican Party (United States)

The Republican Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Democratic Party. Founded by anti-slavery expansion activists in 1854, it is often called the GOP . The party's platform generally reflects American conservatism in the U.S...

 former member of the Kentucky House of Representatives

Kentucky House of Representatives

The Kentucky House of Representatives is the lower house of the Kentucky General Assembly. It is composed of 100 Representatives elected from single-member districts throughout the Commonwealth. Not more than two counties can be joined to form a House district, except when necessary to preserve...

 from District 51 (Taylor

Taylor County, Kentucky

Taylor County is a county located in the U.S. state of Kentucky. As of 2000, the population was 22,927. Its county seat is Campbellsville. The county is named for President Zachary Taylor, who served from 1849 to 1850. Taylor is a moist county...

 and Adair

Adair County, Kentucky

Adair County is a county located in the U.S. state of Kentucky. As of 2010, the population is 18,656. Its county seat is Columbia, Kentucky. The county is named for John Adair, then Speaker of the House in Kentucky and later Governor of Kentucky ....

 counties) in the south central portion of the state.

Prior to his legislative service, which extended from 2001–2009, Mobley was an associate professor of theatre arts at Baptist

Baptist

Baptists comprise a group of Christian denominations and churches that subscribe to a doctrine that baptism should be performed only for professing believers , and that it must be done by immersion...

-affiliated Campbellsville University

Campbellsville University

Campbellsville University, also known as CU, is a private university in Campbellsville, Kentucky, the seat of Taylor County. Founded as Russell Creek Academy, a Baptist institution, the university currently enrolls more than 3,000 students and is open to students of all denominations...

 (formerly College) in Campbellsville

Campbellsville, Kentucky

Campbellsville is a city in Taylor County, Kentucky, United States. The population within city limits was 10,498 at the 2000 census. It is the county seat of Taylor County, and the home of Campbellsville University...

, the seat and largest community of Taylor County. During his teaching career there from 1971 until his retirement in 2005, Mobley directed more than one hundred student plays, the first being Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat Another Mobley play was the 1987 adaptation of Fiddler on the Roof.

Mobley was not a candidate for a fifth two-year term in 2008. The Republican nominee, John "Bam" Carney

John "Bam" Carney

John Mitchel Owen Carney, known as Bam Carney is the Republican member of the Kentucky House of Representatives from District 51 John Mitchel Owen Carney, known as Bam Carney (born September 30) is the Republican member of the Kentucky House of Representatives from District 51 John Mitchel Owen...

, also an educator, was elected to succeed Mobley and still holds the seat.

Mobley holds Bachelor of Arts

Bachelor of Arts

A Bachelor of Arts , from the Latin artium baccalaureus, is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate course or program in either the liberal arts, the sciences, or both...

 and Master of Arts

Master of Arts (postgraduate)

A Master of Arts from the Latin Magister Artium, is a type of Master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The M.A. is usually contrasted with the M.S. or M.Sc. degrees...

 degrees from the University of Kentucky

University of Kentucky

The University of Kentucky, also known as UK, is a public co-educational university and is one of the state's two land-grant universities, located in Lexington, Kentucky...

 in Lexington

Lexington, Kentucky

Lexington is the second-largest city in Kentucky and the 63rd largest in the US. Known as the "Thoroughbred City" and the "Horse Capital of the World", it is located in the heart of Kentucky's Bluegrass region...

. He served in the United States Air Force

United States Air Force

The United States Air Force is the aerial warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the American uniformed services. Initially part of the United States Army, the USAF was formed as a separate branch of the military on September 18, 1947 under the National Security Act of...

 from 1951–1955. He is a former member of Rotary International

Rotary International

Rotary International is an organization of service clubs known as Rotary Clubs located all over the world. The stated purpose of the organization is to bring together business and professional leaders to provide humanitarian service, encourage high ethical standards in all vocations, and help...

 and a member of the Campbellsville Baptist Church.

Mobley was elected to the Kentucky House in 2000. He was unopposed in the Republican primary when the two-term incumbent, Ricky Lee Cox

Ricky Lee Cox

Ricky Lee Cox is a dentist in Campbellsville, Kentucky, who served two terms from 1997-2001 as a Republican member of the Kentucky House of Representatives....

 (born 1958), a Campbellsville dentist, did not seek reelection. In the general election, Mobley defeated the Democrat

Democratic Party (United States)

The Democratic Party is one of two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Republican Party. The party's socially liberal and progressive platform is largely considered center-left in the U.S. political spectrum. The party has the lengthiest record of continuous...

 Russell Montgomery (since a Republican) by 1,305 votes. He won by an even larger margin in 2002, when he defeated the Democrat Henry "Butch" Wheatley by 2,417 ballots. He was reelected in his largely Republican district in 2004 and 2006 as well.

He served on the House Labor and Industry, Transportation, and Education committees. One of Mobley's legislative priorities was the widening of Kenucky State Highways 210

Kentucky State Highway 210

Kentucky Route 210 is part of a major route from the Elizabethtown Metropolitan Area to South Central Kentucky region, and in particular to Lake Cumberland and Green River Lake....

 and 55

Kentucky State Highway 55

Kentucky Route 55 is a 147.227 mile long state highway in the U.S. state of Kentucky. The route originates at a junction with U.S. Route 127 in Freedom, Russell County. The route continues through Columbia in Adair County to U.S...

, an $18.7 million project announced by then Governor

Governor of Kentucky

The Governor of the Commonwealth of Kentucky is the head of the executive branch of government in the U.S. state of Kentucky. Fifty-six men and one woman have served as Governor of Kentucky. The governor's term is four years in length; since 1992, incumbents have been able to seek re-election once...

 Ernie Fletcher

Ernie Fletcher

Ernest Lee "Ernie" Fletcher is a Republican politician from the U.S. state of Kentucky. In 1999, he was elected to the first of three consecutive terms in the United States House of Representatives; he resigned in 2003 after being elected the 60th governor of Kentucky and served in that office...

. The widening project in Taylor County was part of the larger Heartland Parkway, which will ultimately connect the existing Cumberland

Cumberland Parkway

The Louie B. Nunn Cumberland Parkway is an 88.547 mile long east–west controlled-access highway in the U.S. state of Kentucky, extending from Barren County in the west to Somerset in the east...

 and the Blue Grass Parkways.

Some consider Mobley to have been one of the more conservative members of the Kentucky legislature. He supported the right to life

Right to life

Right to life is a phrase that describes the belief that a human being has an essential right to live, particularly that a human being has the right not to be killed by another human being...

 and endorsed the anti-abortion

Abortion

Abortion is defined as the termination of pregnancy by the removal or expulsion from the uterus of a fetus or embryo prior to viability. An abortion can occur spontaneously, in which case it is usually called a miscarriage, or it can be purposely induced...

 legislator Stan Lee, the unsuccessful Republican nominee for Attorney General of Kentucky

Attorney General of Kentucky

The Attorney General of Kentucky is an office created by the Kentucky Constitution. . Under Kentucky law, he serves several roles, including the state's chief prosecutor , the state's chief law enforcement officer , and the state's chief law officer...

 in the November 6, 2007, general election

General election

In a parliamentary political system, a general election is an election in which all or most members of a given political body are chosen. The term is usually used to refer to elections held for a nation's primary legislative body, as distinguished from by-elections and local elections.The term...

. Mobley was a strong supporter of former Governor Fletcher whom he described as "a man who keeps his promises." He backed English

English language

English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...

 as the official language

Language

Language may refer either to the specifically human capacity for acquiring and using complex systems of communication, or to a specific instance of such a system of complex communication...

 and opposed same-sex marriages.

In the middle 1970s, Mobley made an unsuccessful race for the United States House of Representatives

United States House of Representatives

The United States House of Representatives is one of the two Houses of the United States Congress, the bicameral legislature which also includes the Senate.The composition and powers of the House are established in Article One of the Constitution...

 from the Lexington-based Sixth Congressional District. In 1981, he ran unsuccessfully in the Republican primary for the District 16 seat in the Kentucky State Senate, having been defeated by the incumbent Doug Moseley

Doug Moseley

Douglas Dewayne Moseley, known as Doug Moseley , is a retired United Methodist minister and author who served as a Republican member of the Kentucky State Senate from 1974 to 1986...

, a United Methodist minister then living in Albany

Albany, Kentucky

Albany is a city in Clinton County, Kentucky, United States. The population was 2,220 at the 2000 census. It is the county seat of Clinton County. It is located on U.S. Route 127 about six miles from the Tennessee border.-History:...

 and later Campbellsville and Bowling Green

Bowling Green, Kentucky

Bowling Green is the third-most populous city in the state of Kentucky after Louisville and Lexington, with a population of 58,067 as of the 2010 Census. It is the county seat of Warren County and the principal city of the Bowling Green, Kentucky Metropolitan Statistical Area with an estimated 2009...

.

Mobley and his wife, Carole M. Mobley (born 1938), a pharmacist

Pharmacist

Pharmacists are allied health professionals who practice in pharmacy, the field of health sciences focusing on safe and effective medication use...

, are the parents of three sons and two daughters: twins Jeffrey Mobley, an attorney in Nashville

Nashville, Tennessee

Nashville is the capital of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the county seat of Davidson County. It is located on the Cumberland River in Davidson County, in the north-central part of the state. The city is a center for the health care, publishing, banking and transportation industries, and is home...

, Tennessee

Tennessee

Tennessee is a U.S. state located in the Southeastern United States. It has a population of 6,346,105, making it the nation's 17th-largest state by population, and covers , making it the 36th-largest by total land area...

, and Gregory Mobley (born September 21, 1957), a professor of Old Testament

Old Testament

The Old Testament, of which Christians hold different views, is a Christian term for the religious writings of ancient Israel held sacred and inspired by Christians which overlaps with the 24-book canon of the Masoretic Text of Judaism...

 at Andover Newton Theological School

Andover Newton Theological School

Andover Newton Theological School is a graduate school and seminary located in Newton, Massachusetts. It is America's oldest graduate seminary and the nation's first graduate institution of any kind...

 in Newton, Massachusetts

Newton, Massachusetts

Newton is a city in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States bordered to the east by Boston. According to the 2010 U.S. Census, the population of Newton was 85,146, making it the eleventh largest city in the state.-Villages:...

; Joel Mobley (born 1966), an assistant professor of physics

Physics

Physics is a natural science that involves the study of matter and its motion through spacetime, along with related concepts such as energy and force. More broadly, it is the general analysis of nature, conducted in order to understand how the universe behaves.Physics is one of the oldest academic...

 and astronomy

Astronomy

Astronomy is a natural science that deals with the study of celestial objects and phenomena that originate outside the atmosphere of Earth...

 at the University of Mississippi

University of Mississippi

The University of Mississippi, also known as Ole Miss, is a public, coeducational research university located in Oxford, Mississippi. Founded in 1844, the school is composed of the main campus in Oxford, four branch campuses located in Booneville, Grenada, Tupelo, and Southaven as well as the...

 in Oxford

Oxford, Mississippi

Oxford is a city in, and the county seat of, Lafayette County, Mississippi, United States. Founded in 1835, it was named after the British university city of Oxford in hopes of having the state university located there, which it did successfully attract....

; Stephanie M. Woodie, an instructor at Berea College

Berea College

Berea College is a liberal arts work college in Berea, Kentucky , founded in 1855. Current full-time enrollment is 1,514 students...

 in Berea

Berea, Kentucky

-Demographics:As of the census of 2000, there were 9,851 people, 3,693 households, and 2,426 families residing in the city. The population density was 1,055.4 people per square mile . There were 4,115 housing units at an average density of 440.9 per square mile...

, Kentucky, and Suzanne M. Bennett, a reading educator in the Green County School District and the wife of Joel Bennett. Gregory Mobley is the coauthor of The Birth of Satan: Tracing the Devil's Biblical Roots.

In 2011, the Campbellsville University theater in the Alumni Building was named in Mobley's honor. CU President Michael V. Carter, at the dedication ceremonies, said that Mobley "leaves a great legacy in this place."