James Elam
James Elam (Democratic Party) ran for election to the Charleston City Council to represent Ward 18 in West Virginia. He lost in the Democratic primary on May 10, 2022.
Elam completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2022. Click here to read the survey answers.
Biography
James Elam was born in Evanston, Illinois, and lives in Charleston, West Virginia. He graduated from Capital High School. Elam attended Concord University in Athens, West Virginia, from 2015 to 2016. He earned an associate degree from the University of the People, based in Pasadena, California, in 2022. He attended Christian Leaders College. Elam's career experience includes working as a corrections officer with the West Virginia Division of Corrections and in private security with a hospital. He has been affiliated with the Southern States Correctional Association, WV Can't Wait, Charleston Can't Wait, and the WVDP LGBTQ Caucus.[1][2][3][4]
Elections
2022
See also: City elections in Charleston, West Virginia (2022)
General election
General election for Charleston City Council Ward 18
Pam Burka defeated incumbent Bobby Brown and Dana Skerbetz in the general election for Charleston City Council Ward 18 on November 8, 2022.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
✔ | Pam Burka (R) | 43.6 | 323 | |
Bobby Brown (D) | 42.0 | 311 | ||
Dana Skerbetz (Independent) | 14.2 | 105 | ||
Other/Write-in votes | 0.1 | 1 |
Total votes: 740 | ||||
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Democratic primary election
Democratic primary for Charleston City Council Ward 18
Incumbent Bobby Brown defeated James Elam in the Democratic primary for Charleston City Council Ward 18 on May 10, 2022.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
✔ | Bobby Brown | 54.2 | 122 | |
![]() | James Elam ![]() | 45.8 | 103 |
Total votes: 225 | ||||
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Republican primary election
Republican primary for Charleston City Council Ward 18
Pam Burka advanced from the Republican primary for Charleston City Council Ward 18 on May 10, 2022.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
✔ | Pam Burka | 100.0 | 90 |
Total votes: 90 | ||||
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2020
See also: West Virginia House of Delegates elections, 2020
General election
General election for West Virginia House of Delegates District 36 (3 seats)
The following candidates ran in the general election for West Virginia House of Delegates District 36 on November 3, 2020.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
✔ | ![]() | Larry Rowe (D) | 20.4 | 10,355 |
✔ | ![]() | Chris Pritt (R) | 16.8 | 8,508 |
✔ | ![]() | Jim Barach (D) | 16.8 | 8,490 |
Stevie Thaxton (R) | 15.8 | 8,026 | ||
Amanda Estep-Burton (D) | 15.3 | 7,743 | ||
![]() | Chris Walters (R) | 14.9 | 7,548 | |
Jaime Policarpio (Independent) (Write-in) | 0.0 | 0 |
Total votes: 50,670 | ||||
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Democratic primary election
Democratic primary for West Virginia House of Delegates District 36 (3 seats)
The following candidates ran in the Democratic primary for West Virginia House of Delegates District 36 on June 9, 2020.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
✔ | ![]() | Larry Rowe | 31.6 | 5,157 |
✔ | Amanda Estep-Burton | 18.9 | 3,083 | |
✔ | ![]() | Jim Barach | 15.2 | 2,484 |
Amber Ferrell | 13.7 | 2,241 | ||
Edgar Poe | 7.7 | 1,250 | ||
Clint Casto | 6.9 | 1,125 | ||
![]() | James Elam | 6.0 | 975 |
Total votes: 16,315 | ||||
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Republican primary election
Republican primary for West Virginia House of Delegates District 36 (3 seats)
The following candidates ran in the Republican primary for West Virginia House of Delegates District 36 on June 9, 2020.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
✔ | ![]() | Chris Pritt | 24.7 | 2,514 |
✔ | Stevie Thaxton | 15.6 | 1,584 | |
✔ | ![]() | Chris Walters | 15.3 | 1,558 |
Amanda Davis | 12.4 | 1,268 | ||
John Luoni | 12.2 | 1,244 | ||
Eric Young | 11.8 | 1,202 | ||
Bill Johnson | 8.0 | 816 |
Total votes: 10,186 | ||||
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2018
General election
General election for West Virginia House of Delegates District 36 (3 seats)
The following candidates ran in the general election for West Virginia House of Delegates District 36 on November 6, 2018.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
✔ | ![]() | Larry Rowe (D) | 22.1 | 9,651 |
✔ | ![]() | Andrew Robinson (D) | 19.9 | 8,694 |
✔ | Amanda Estep-Burton (D) | 16.4 | 7,165 | |
![]() | Chris Pritt (R) | 16.3 | 7,103 | |
Ethan Morris (R) | 12.8 | 5,563 | ||
Matthew Jarrett (R) | 12.5 | 5,434 |
Total votes: 43,610 (100.00% precincts reporting) | ||||
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Democratic primary election
Democratic primary for West Virginia House of Delegates District 36 (3 seats)
Incumbent Larry Rowe, incumbent Andrew Robinson, and Amanda Estep-Burton defeated Clint Casto and James Elam in the Democratic primary for West Virginia House of Delegates District 36 on May 8, 2018.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
✔ | ![]() | Larry Rowe | 32.5 | 4,185 |
✔ | ![]() | Andrew Robinson | 29.9 | 3,854 |
✔ | Amanda Estep-Burton | 21.1 | 2,710 | |
Clint Casto | 9.3 | 1,197 | ||
![]() | James Elam | 7.2 | 924 |
Total votes: 12,870 | ||||
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Withdrawn or disqualified candidates
- James Peters (D)
Republican primary election
Republican primary for West Virginia House of Delegates District 36 (3 seats)
Chris Pritt, Matthew Jarrett, and Ethan Morris advanced from the Republican primary for West Virginia House of Delegates District 36 on May 8, 2018.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
✔ | ![]() | Chris Pritt | 36.2 | 1,885 |
✔ | Matthew Jarrett | 33.0 | 1,719 | |
✔ | Ethan Morris | 30.8 | 1,604 |
Total votes: 5,208 | ||||
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Withdrawn or disqualified candidates
- Brad White (R)
Campaign themes
2022
Ballotpedia survey responses
See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection
James Elam completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2022. The survey questions appear in bold and are followed by Elam's responses. Candidates are asked three required questions for this survey, but they may answer additional optional questions as well.
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|James Elam was born in Evanston, Illinois, and has lived in Charleston, West Virginia for nearly 10 years now. Elam is a graduate of Capital High School in Charleston. Elam attended Concord University in Athens, West Virginia, from 2015 to 2016, before beginning a job in law enforcement (Division of Corrections). While attending Concord University, Elam was an Associate Brother in the Phi Sigma Phi fraternity.
From 2016 to 2017, Elam served as a Correctional Officer with what was then West Virginia Division of Corrections (WVDOC) now known as the Division of Corrections & Rehabilitation. Elam was assigned as a housing unit Officer at Salem Correctional Center, a medium-security men's prison, where he was trained in basic law enforcement duties. After leaving the Division of Corrections in late 2017, Elam went into the private protection and security industry. Elam left state employment to seek elected office. Elam ran for a seat in the West Virginia House of Delegates in both the 2018 and 2020 elections and sought to represent Kanawha County's 36th District. In 2020, Elam was endorsed by The Charleston-Gazette Mail for the democratic primary for Delegate.
Elam lives in the Kanawha City neighborhood of Charleston, West Virginia and is running in the 2022 municipal election for a seat on Charleston City Council (Ward 18).- Addressing Public Safety & Gun Violence
- Housing & Addressing Homelessness
- Public Health in Charleston
- Public Housing
- Public Health & Recovery Efforts
- Fighting COVID-19
- Economic Diversity
- Protecting Minorities & Fighting Injustice
- Cannabis Legalization & Decriminalization
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.
2020
James Elam did not complete Ballotpedia's 2020 Candidate Connection survey.
2018
Ballotpedia survey responses
- See also: Ballotpedia's candidate surveys
James Elam participated in Ballotpedia's candidate survey on April 6, 2018. The survey questions appear in bold, and James Elam's responses follow below.[5]
What would be your top three priorities, if elected?
“ | 1) Cannabis Legalization 2) Fighting the Opioid Epidemic |
” |
What areas of public policy are you personally passionate about? Why?
“ | I am passionate about criminal justice reform since I am a former Corrections Officer. I am also passionate about fighting the opioid epidemic in West Virginia, as we lead the nation in opioid related overdose. We know the benefits of legalized cannabis, and the effectiveness in reducing the rates of opioid abuse in states with legal cannabis. WV needs to get on board. I am also extremely passionate about LGBT rights, as I am the youngest openly gay candidate to ever run for the West Virginia Legislature.Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; invalid names, e.g. too many[7]
|
” |
See also
2022 Elections
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ James Elam - House Delegates 36th District - Charleston, WV, "About," accessed March 17, 2018
- ↑ Ballotpedia staff, "Email communication with James Elam," August 3, 2020
- ↑ Ballotpedia's Elections Team, “Email communication with James Elam," February 17, 2021
- ↑ Information submitted to Ballotpedia through the Candidate Connection survey on January 28, 2022
- ↑ Note: The candidate's answers have been reproduced here verbatim without edits or corrections by Ballotpedia.
- ↑ Ballotpedia's candidate survey, "James Elam's responses," April 6, 2018
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
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