(Photo Illustration/MetroCreative)

PARKERSBURG — A former council member and a longtime public official in Vienna are running for the District 3 seat on Parkersburg City Council.

Current Councilman Bob Mercer opted to run for the Wood County Board of Education instead of seeking a third term on council and lost in the May election. Roger Brown, who served on council from 2013 to 2016, defeated James “J.J.” Hendershot in the Republican primary while Vienna Public Works Director Craig Metz was appointed to run after no Democrats filed.

Brown said people still stop him to talk and ask questions about city government and he’s picked up more knowledge by serving on the city’s Board of Zoning Appeals for almost eight years and the Wood County Planning Commission for about a year.

Brown said he’s also familiar with the infrastructure needs of the district from walking it ahead of the primary, something he planned to do before the Nov. 5 general election as well.

“People are really, in this district, they’re proud of the community. They take care of their homes, their yards,” he said. It would be “an honor to serve for them again.”

Brown said he thinks the city should have an employee dedicated to bringing businesses to Parkersburg.

“We’ve got restaurants, we’ve got car washes, but the only factory we’ve got is DuPont (Chemours’ Washington Works). That’s a county thing,” Brown said.

A new fire station in the vicinity of the south Parkersburg Walmart could encourage more property owners to be annexed into the city, Brown said.

“We’ve got to get this city to grow,” he said.

Although he’s been Vienna’s public works director for 27 years, Metz is a Parkersburg resident who now lives in his parents’ former home. He said he has experience managing a multimillion-dollar budget and working in the construction field for more than 40 years.

“I’m there for the blue collar worker,” Metz said. “I’m there to represent (those) guys. That’s what my expertise is.”

Metz said he would like to see the city pursue more grants for infrastructure projects, particularly streets.

“Every year I write them, I follow the guidelines for them, try to get as much as I can for the streets, the infrastructure,” he said.

Metz said he knows and gets along with members of Parkersburg City Council and the administration.

“All good people. Even my opponent’s a good person,” he said.

Metz said he’s running to give voters a choice and recommends making that choice based on qualifications, not party affiliation.

Evan Bevins can be reached at ebevins@newsandsentinel.com

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Parkersburg City Council District 3 Candidates

Roger Brown

* Age: 73

* Address: 606 Neal St.

* Party: Republican

* Occupation: retired, International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers

* Past offices: one term on council, 2013-16; member of the city’s Board of Zoning Appeals and the Wood County Planning Commission

Craig D. Metz

* Age: 59

* Address: 1411 15th Ave.

* Party: Democrat

* Occupation: City of Vienna director of public works

* Past offices: ran for council in 2016