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Former commissioner Jake Padlow has announced his candidacy for the Marshall County Commission after a six-year hiatus.
Padlow, who served two terms as commissioner from 2000-2012, returns to run against Republican commissioner Bob Miller in the May 8 election. Pulling from his past experience, Padlow, a Democrat, said he aims to help Marshall County prosper, including making immediate moves to address infrastructure concerns, especially in water and sewage. This involves bringing back the Water and Sewage Ad Hoc Committee, he said, and the expansion of W.Va. 2 to a four-lane highway.
Another focus of Padlow's, he said, was the development of a sports and learning center, to which he promised to dedicate his first year's salary -- $41,395 -- if elected. Padlow was involved on the committee organized to examine the possibility of developing a recreational complex at Moundsville's East End Park, which remains an open question among city leaders.
"I've been involved in that kind of ad-hoc committee for a year," he said. "I'd love to put it there, and I think that's the only location that could really work. There's other opinions, and I don't want to butt any heads, but that's my view. We've looked down there, there's an issue with the city owning it, and the county funding it, but those are all things that can be worked out.
'I dream big, and it'd be nice to have those baseball fields down there under a roof."
Padlow added that he'd previously set money aside during his last term as commissioner for a similar project.
Additionally, Padlow said that he'd aim to introduce the groundwork for a pay raise for many of the county's employees. The Marshall County Sheriff's office, he noted, was among the lowest in the county -- just ahead of Glen Dale for local law enforcement, according to county records.
"Our deputies' starting salaries are currently among the lowest of all local law enforcement officials in Marshall County," Padlow said, "and other county employees' starting salaries are so low, that a single parent receiving this wage actually qualifies for government assistance.
Also with the sheriff's office, Padlow said he'd like to expand the department by four deputies, and would work to provide 24-hour legal support for officers, as well as the creation of an Opioid and Heroin Task Force.
Padlow is a 47-year old widower and father of three children. He is a lifelong resident of Marshall County and lives in McMechen with his fiancee, Elizabeth Lawther, and his youngest daughter, Addie, a student at John Marshall High School. His daughter Morgan, 18, attends the Paul Mitchell School of Cosmetology in Jacksonville, Fla., and his son Jesse, 21, is a junior at West Liberty University and a member of the baseball team.