Sen. Bill Purcell announced on Monday that he will seek re-election to represent the 25th N.C. Senatorial District, which includes Anson, Richmond, Scotland and Stanly counties.

Filing for elective offices begins next Monday. Stanly County resident Jason Phibbs has also announced he will run for the District 25 North Carolina Senate seat.

Purcell, a native of Laurinburg, practiced pediatrics for 36 years, served on the Laurinburg City Council for six years and as Mayor of Laurinburg for 10 years before being appointed to the N.C. Senate in 1997. He has been re-elected six times.

Purcell said that his top priorities are jobs, educational opportunities and affordable health care for North Carolina’s families.

“We are in the most difficult economic time since the Great Depression of the 1930s,” Purcell said. “My primary concern is finding jobs for the counties I represent. But to compete for jobs we must have a well educated work force,” he added. “That means we must continue to support our public schools, community colleges and university system.”

Purcell serves as co-chair of the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Health and Human Services, co-chair of the Senate Health Committee and as a member of the Commerce Committee, the Finance Committee, the Education/Higher Education Committee and numerous other committees and commissions. In 2008 he was voted by his fellow senators, lobbyists and capital news correspondents as the 10th most effective member of the N.C. Senate.

Purcell noted that following the 2010 census, the N.C. General Assembly will be responsible for redrawing congressional and legislative districts.

“As control of the General Assembly shifts toward the urban areas of our state, it’s important to have someone with seniority representing the 25th District so that our rural communities’ needs are not overlooked,” Purcell said.

Purcell played a major role in passing legislation that prohibits smoking in North Carolina’s bars and restaurants. It went into effect Jan. 2 of this year. He also worked diligently for legislation that requires the state to take over the counties’ part of Medicaid expenses. This legislation is now saving counties in Purcell’s district millions of dollars each year.

“Serving in the Senate has been an honor and a privilege that I take very seriously,” Purcell said. “I look forward to working with others to make the right investments in our future and to responsibly work toward keeping taxes as low as possible.”