CHARLESTON, W.Va. – The race for an opening Kanawha County Commission seat is on, and St. Albans Vice Mayor Jared Page wants it for himself, formally filing to run for Commissioner Lance Wheeler’s position in the May Republican primary.

Jared Page

With Wheeler set to run for a spot in the state senate, Page saw an opportunity to continue making an impact in local government.

“I’m running for the Kanawha County Commission because I believe in the strength of our communities, and I believe in our communities coming together to build a better county,” he said Monday on 580 Live with Dave Allen.

With his candidacy official, Page touts a laundry list of endorsements that include Wheeler himself, State Agriculture Commissioner Kent Leonhardt, Kanawha County Sheriff Joey Crawford, County Prosecutor Debra Rusnak, three state senators, and seven members of the House of Delegates in addition to the St. Albans Fraternal Order of Police.

Page is a lifelong Kanawha County resident who holds two degrees from the University of Charleston and acted as municipal judge in St. Albans before becoming vice mayor. One of the issues he plans to run on is continuing the county’s demolition of dilapidated buildings.

“I’ve seen it, as a municipal judge and as a city-elected official, what the negative impacts of dilapidated structures are with property values and just general negativity, as well as crime increases in those areas,” he said.

Page also pointed to expanding the county’s growing sports tourism industry and maintaining a strong relationship with the county sheriff’s department as key issues in his campaign.

The diversity of Kanawha County is something Page believes requires a certain kind of leader to be able to deal with. He wants to be that leader.

“The wants and needs in Sissonville, for example, are completely different from the wants and needs in South Charleston. The wants and needs in Dunbar are completely different than Glasgow, and so I think that it is key for the county commission to have representatives who can relate and unify,” he said.

Despite never holding office outside of city government, Page thinks his experience would make him an asset on the commission.

“I can bring a unique perspective from working in a city government as a department head and as an elected leader from my community,” he said.

The 2026 primary election is scheduled for May 12.