Candidate Biography (submitted by candidate):

After graduating from West Charlotte High School, Ruth attended the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. There she earned a Bachelor of Arts in Speech Communications and met her husband of 29 years, Ken Samuelson. Ken is a principle with the Morehead Group.

Ruth and Ken are blessed to have four wonderful children. Bobby, David, Joy and Alex. The Samuelsons adopted Joy from Chile as a baby. Alex came to them through the foster care system when he was 10 years old.

In 1999 she began her political service as co-chair for the bond campaign in support of a new courthouse. Two years later, as a member of the Board of County Commissioners, she fought to keep the promise made to voters about the site and cost of the courthouse.

Ruth has chaired Kids Voting at the county and state levels, bringing democracy and the importance of voting to children across North Carolina.

She recently chaired the Board of Managers at the Dowd YMCA, and serves on numerous local and national boards.

Ruth has consistently championed common sense environmental plans such as the Little Sugar Creek Greenway and the award winning Environmental Leadership Policy. These programs clean our air and water while strengthening our economy.

As a legislator, Ruth has continued this leadership tradition by advocating for responsible stewardship of our economic and environmental resources. In 2008, she won the inaugural "Green Government Leader Award" from the Charlotte Business Journal and was recognized by several business and advocacy groups a freshman to watch. Ruth is proud of her accomplishments, but knows that more must be done if our state is to meet its promise as the premier place to live, work and recreate.

Like any parent, I often think of my children as I envision the future. I know that the education that they receive today will provide them opportunities for tomorrow. I want North Carolina to be a state where our children will want to raise their own children.

I envision a state that families embrace because children can play safely in our neighborhoods and parks while their parents find steady paying jobs nearby. I want a community where young people can buy their first home and afford to raise a family, not one where homebuyers flee to South Carolina because taxes here are too high. I desire a community that parents choose because quality educational opportunities abound.