WSON Candidate Questionnaire 2026
What is your name: Janyna “Jayna” Lynn Russelburg
What office are you seeking? Kentucky Senate District 4: Henderson, Hopkins, Union, Webster versus incumbent Robert H. “Robby” Mills
What is your age: 43
Please provide your family background (i.e. spouse, children, grandchildren, pets):
I am married to my husband of 17 years, Bryan. We have two children, Bennett, and Annelise, age 15 and 7, respectively. She attends a local public school and is in first grade. He is at the high school. Each family member has a dog, so we have 4 pets total.
What is your educational background? (i.e. high school, GED, associate degree, bachelor’s degree, master’s degree, doctoral degree, etc.).
I have a Bachelor’s degree from Eastern Kentucky University in Elementary Education and Special Education Mild Disabilities with a minor in American Sign Language. I have a Master’s degree in Special Education Moderate to Severe Disabilities from the University of Louisville. And I have a second Master’s (called a “Rank I”) in Special Education Administration from the University of the Cumberlands.
Have you been elected to a political office previously? If so, what office(s) and when did you hold those office(s)?
This is the first time I’ve run for public office; however, I have held leadership positions in school, service organizations, and in my career.
What is your professional background? (Please include career and any boards and volunteer work).
I worked locally in retail and as a server while in high school and college. I worked in the Henderson County Schools for 17 years until taking a sabbatical to pursue a more flexible job in order to be available for my son who has a neuromuscular condition.
Of late, I have worked jobs in insurance and at a youth-focused nonprofit as well as offering freelance digital art and special education advocacy services.
I am the co-founder of the group, Blue Dots of Henderson, with a local friend and colleague. Our group collects food, clothing, and household items to give away free to the community monthly.
We also support other positive causes in the area. I also co-founded the Young Blue Dots of Henderson with a group of local high school students. I have co-organized the local No Kings and subsequent peaceful rallies in the Henderson-area for several years.
Before closing, I served as the youth and music leader as well as performing administrative duties at my open and affirming UCC church.
Why are you running for office?
As a mom, wife, educator, community advocate and lifelong Kentuckian, I have seen firsthand how amazing our neighbors are and I believe that regular people should have a MUCH bigger voice in the decisions that affect our day-to-day lives.
The most important lessons I’ve learned in my life have come from working hard and caring about people. Spending time with my neighbors. Raising a family in real Western Kentucky has shown me the resilience of our neighbors in hard times, and my son is one of those resilient neighbors. He lives
with Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy, and that experience has profoundly shaped the way I see the world.
I know what it means to navigate systems that weren’t designed with every family in mind. I know how exhausting it can be to fight for services, accessibility, education, healthcare, and simple dignity.
I believe working people deserve wages they can actually live on. Families deserve affordable healthcare. Children deserve to eat at school without anyone asking whether their parents can afford it. People with disabilities deserve full participation in their communities. Teachers and other public servants deserve respect. Small towns deserve investment.
My “politics” come from the same place as my education career and community work: I believe we have a responsibility to look out for one another.
We owe our best to one another as neighbors. Kentucky doesn’t belong to politicians – it belongs to us.
If elected to office, what would be your top three goals?
1. STATE WORKERS: Keep qualified teachers and support staff in Kentucky public schools; cost of living adjustments for teacher, police, fire department and other state employee retirees; support strong pensions.2. DISABILITY SERVICES: make services easier to access; keep families from falling through the cracks; ALTERNATE REVENUE SOURCES.
3. FOOD SECURITY: permanent free lunches for all public-school students; expand food security support services; partnerships with local farms; food
exploration programs; address food deserts.
Why should people vote for you?
I believe people should vote for me because I care about “we the people’ – all people, no matter their background, wealth, religion, or any other factor. I believe in human rights FOR ALL —and I feel that in a wealthy nation like ours, our government should make life easier for families, not create another obstacle course for them to navigate.
Rural and working-class children deserve every opportunity we can give them. And when we invest early in Pre-K, early intervention, special education, mental health, nutrition, and social/emotional supports we don’t just improve schools – we strengthen entire communities.
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