Emmett Pepper
Emmett Pepper (Democratic Party) is an at-large member of the Charleston City Council in West Virginia. He assumed office on November 1, 2021. His current term ends on January 4, 2027.
Pepper (Democratic Party) is running for re-election for an at-large seat of the Charleston City Council in West Virginia. He declared candidacy for the Democratic primary scheduled on May 12, 2026.[source]
Biography
Emmett Pepper was born in West Virginia. He earned a high school diploma from George Washington High School, a bachelor's degree from the Virginia Tech in 2000, and a law degree from the American University Washington College of Law in 2012. His career experience includes working as a lawyer. Pepper has been affiliated with the West Virginia International Film Festival and Energy Efficient West Virginia.[1]
Elections
2026
See also: City elections in Charleston, West Virginia (2026)
General election
The primary will occur on May 12, 2026. The general election will occur on November 3, 2026. General election candidates will be added here following the primary.
The candidate list in this election may not be complete.
Democratic primary
The candidate list in this election may not be complete.
Democratic primary for Charleston City Council (6 seats)
The following candidates are running in the Democratic primary for Charleston City Council on May 12, 2026.
Candidate | ||
| Caitlin Cook | ||
 | Emmett Pepper | |
| Jennifer Pharr | ||
| Patrick Salango | ||
| Joe Solomon | ||
| Shawn Taylor | ||
 | Linda Bodie | |
 | Jason Gibson  | |
| Gina Grigoraci | ||
| Kitty Lindsay | ||
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| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
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Republican primary
The candidate list in this election may not be complete.
Republican primary for Charleston City Council (6 seats)
Fred Joseph (R), Will Pack (R), Da'Ron Parks (R), Patricia Smith (R), and Lisa Samples White (R) are running in the Republican primary for Charleston City Council on May 12, 2026.
| ||||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team. | ||||
Endorsements
Ballotpedia is gathering information about candidate endorsements. To send us an endorsement, click here.
2022
See also: City elections in Charleston, West Virginia (2022)
General election
General election for Charleston City Council (6 seats)
The following candidates ran in the general election for Charleston City Council on November 8, 2022.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | Caitlin Cook (D) | 11.0 | 7,119 | |
| ✔ | Becky Ceperley (D) | 11.0 | 7,098 | |
| ✔ | Shawn Taylor (D) | 10.9 | 7,084 | |
| ✔ | Jennifer Pharr (D) | 10.9 | 7,082 | |
| ✔ | | Emmett Pepper (D) | 10.5 | 6,778 |
| ✔ | Joe Solomon (D) | 10.2 | 6,574 | |
| Mark Sadd (R) | 8.9 | 5,751 | ||
| Courtney Persinger (R) | 8.0 | 5,189 | ||
| John Bsharah (R) | 7.9 | 5,145 | ||
| Larry Malone (R) | 7.7 | 4,985 | ||
 | Jerry Tucker (L) | 2.8 | 1,809 | |
| Other/Write-in votes | 0.2 | 121 | ||
| Total votes: 64,735 | |||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team. | ||||
Withdrawn or disqualified candidates
- Michael Husson (Independent)
Democratic primary election
Democratic primary for Charleston City Council (6 seats)
The following candidates ran in the Democratic primary for Charleston City Council on May 10, 2022.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | Jennifer Pharr | 12.8 | 2,652 | |
| ✔ | Caitlin Cook | 12.4 | 2,563 | |
| ✔ | Becky Ceperley | 11.0 | 2,286 | |
| ✔ | Joe Solomon | 10.7 | 2,209 | |
| ✔ | | Emmett Pepper | 10.0 | 2,080 |
| ✔ | Shawn Taylor | 9.1 | 1,880 | |
| Corey Zinn | 8.9 | 1,852 | ||
| Chuck Hamsher | 8.0 | 1,649 | ||
| Deanna McKinney | 7.5 | 1,552 | ||
| Jonathan Frazier | 5.2 | 1,069 | ||
| Jeni Riser | 4.6 | 948 | ||
| Total votes: 20,740 | |||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team. | ||||
Republican primary election
Republican primary for Charleston City Council (6 seats)
Mark Sadd, incumbent Courtney Persinger, Larry Malone, and John Bsharah advanced from the Republican primary for Charleston City Council on May 10, 2022.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | Mark Sadd | 28.5 | 1,418 | |
| ✔ | Courtney Persinger | 26.1 | 1,300 | |
| ✔ | Larry Malone | 23.2 | 1,156 | |
| ✔ | John Bsharah | 22.3 | 1,110 | |
| Total votes: 4,984 | |||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team. | ||||
Campaign themes
2026
Ballotpedia survey responses
See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection
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2022
Emmett Pepper completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2022. The survey questions appear in bold and are followed by Pepper's responses.
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I am working alongside residents to make Charleston a place for families to visit, live, work, start a business, and stay – for the long term. We’re in this together, let’s make Charleston everything we want it to be.
I'm an at-large member of the Charleston, West Virginia, City Council, serving on the Ordinances & Rules and Environment & Recycling committees. I live in the East End neighborhood with my wife, Emma, and son Adlai.
I grew up in the West Side, East End, and South Hills neighborhoods, and frequently visited my grandmother in Kanawha City. I graduated from George Washington High School in 1995 and received my bachelor’s degree from Virginia Tech, later graduating from the American University Washington College of Law in Washington, DC.
After clerking as a writ clerk with the West Virginia Supreme Court of Appeals, I began splitting my time between the Pepper and Nason law firm and the non-profit Energy Efficient West Virginia.
I am an active member of this community and serve as a board member for the West Virginia International Film Festival, where I worked closely with the team that founded the Floralee Hark Cohen Cinema in 2017. I was also instrumental in establishing the citizen-led Green Team for the City of Charleston and served as the first Chair.
I’m working hard for all residents in Charleston.- Charleston has good momentum, but we need to keep it going.
- We need to make it easier for families and small businesses to thrive.
By helping the city become more sustainable, we can diversify the economy and make the city more enjoyable to live in.
Here's what I've accomplished in my first (and only, so far) year in office:
• Lead sponsor of a bipartisan bill that strengthened the vacant structures registry — making it harder for people to harm our neighborhoods by having vacant buildings.
• Worked with Mayor Goodwin to create the Small Business Liaison position.
• Helping implement a program to save taxpayers 25%+ on energy costs.
• Increased fines for littering in the city.
• Lead sponsor of the bipartisan bill that legalized electric scooters.
• Working with the Administration/Councilmember Cook to find a local solution for recycling to avoid excess costs taking our recyclables to Beckley.
• Worked with colleagues to send a letter to Joe Manchin in support of passing what is now the Inflation Reduction Act.
• Worked with the mayor on a proclamation in support of Ukrainian refugees, recognizing our sister city in Slovakia that is helping them.
• Introduced a bipartisan consumer protection bill to protect against unscrupulous companies that make home improvements, sell our personal data, etc.
• Charleston Land Reuse Agency board - address vacant/dilapidated buildings, finding a way to redevelop lots.
• Spring Hill Cemetery Commissioner - help people protect/experience nature in a place of reverence.
1. Determine how to spend (or save) tax dollars.
2. Determine what laws to enact (or remove) to best enhance the safety and quality of life of Charlestonians.
Note: Ballotpedia reserves the right to edit Candidate Connection survey responses. Any edits made by Ballotpedia will be clearly marked with [brackets] for the public. If the candidate disagrees with an edit, he or she may request the full removal of the survey response from Ballotpedia.org. Ballotpedia does not edit or correct typographical errors unless the candidate's campaign requests it.
See also
2026 Elections
External links
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Candidate Charleston City Council |
Officeholder Charleston City Council |
Personal |
Footnotes
- ↑ Information submitted to Ballotpedia through the Candidate Connection survey on September 29, 2022
