Emmett Pepper

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Emmett Pepper
Image of Emmett Pepper
Charleston City Council
Tenure

2021 - Present

Term ends

2027

Years in position

3

Elections and appointments
Last elected

November 8, 2022

Education

High school

George Washington High School

Bachelor's

Virginia Tech, 2000

Law

American University Washington College of Law, 2012

Personal
Birthplace
West Virginia
Profession
Lawyer
Contact

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) ran for re-election for an at-large seat of the Charleston City Council in West Virginia. He won in the general election on November 8, 2022.

Pepper completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2022. Click here to read the survey answers.

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

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
Image of Emmett Pepper
Emmett Pepper (D) Candidate Connection
 
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
Image of Jerry Tucker
Jerry Tucker (L) Candidate Connection
 
2.8
 
1,809
 Other/Write-in votes
 
0.2
 
121

Total votes: 64,735
Candidate Connection = 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.

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Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

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
Image of Emmett Pepper
Emmett Pepper Candidate Connection
 
10.0
 
2,080
Shawn Taylor
 
9.1
 
1,880
Corey Zinn Candidate Connection
 
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 Connection = 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 Connection = 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

2022

Ballotpedia survey responses

See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection

Candidate Connection

Emmett Pepper completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2022. The survey questions appear in bold and are followed by Pepper's responses. Candidates are asked three required questions for this survey, but they may answer additional optional questions as well.

Expand all | Collapse all

I’m Emmett Pepper, a committed resident and councilman living in Charleston, WV.

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.

I'm passionate about addressing blight and crime while also lifting up our residents in a compassionate way.

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.

• Helping constituents with specific, hyperlocal needs.
Responsiveness to input and the wisdom to understand what is best for the most constituents.
City council has three main functions:

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.

3. Work with constituents to identify specific issues and to harmonize the needs of constituents with the actions of the city workers.
Yes. Having experience working collaboratively to enact laws is helpful to finding solutions that work for all Charlestonians. My background working with legislators on behalf of low-income folks has prepared me to find solutions that maybe aren't obvious, but also working with the nitty gritty details required to have well-written laws.
I am pragmatic, yet principled. I never lose sight of my goals, but am able to find solutions that address the needs of most Charlestonians to move the city forward.

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


External links

Footnotes

  1. Information submitted to Ballotpedia through the Candidate Connection survey on September 29, 2022