Chris Blackburn, Rick Estep, and Joel A. Potts III are vying for the Fifth Ward seat on the New Martinsville City Council. Incumbent Doris Fannin has chosen not to seek re-election.



Chris Blackburn, candidate for the Fifth Ward New Martinsville council seat, is the son of Don and Annie Blackburn and father of Anthony. Born and raised in New Martinsville, Blackburn is a graduate of Magnolia High School and served honorably in the United States Air Force and Army Reserve.

He has worked as a long haul truck driver and in a high security level Law Enforcement & Security position at the Department of Energy Rocky Flats Nuclear Weapons Plant in Colorado. While at Rocky Flats, he attended the Peace Officer Standardized Training academy and became a certified Colorado Law Enforcement Officer.

Blackburn founded and co-owned a successful private security agency and, upon returning to New Martinsville in 2005, has assumed the responsibilities of assistant manager in the family business.

He is a Professional Association of Dive Instructors-certified Dive Master and a fully trained and rated multi-engine commercial pilot. He has been learning software design and have beta tested software for Aerosoft GmbH (Ud), of Bueren, Germany and Captain Sim Flight Simulation Software, based in Canada, Russia, and Ukraine.



Joel A. Potts III is the son of Joel A. Potts Jr. and the late Virginia Maxwell Potts.

Joel is a member of the First Christian Church in New Martinsville, where he currently serves as an elder and is a former board chairperson and Sunday School teacher. On the state level, he is coordinator of men’s ministries and serves each summer on the staff of the Christian Youth Conference at Bethany College.

He also holds membership in the Sons of the American Legion Squadron 28 and ArtsLink, both in New Martinsville.

Potts is employed the Williams Funeral Home of Pine Grove and served more than 20 years as a volunteer driver, EMT, and officer with the New Martinsville Ambulance Service.

Some of the issues that he hopes to address if elected are: economic development, infrastructure, upgrade of parks, programming for youth, fiscal stability of the city, and the restoring of trust and accountability in city government.

As a life-long resident of New Martinsville, Potts believes he has the knowledge of the community to serve all of the citizens in a fair and unbiased manner. He welcomes citizens to contact him with any concerns they may have.



Rick Estep is the son of Guy and Anna Jean Goddard Estep of Paden City, where he was born and raised. He is a graduate of Paden City High school and has been employed with the City of New Martinsville as a police dispatcher for the past eight years. He is currently a resident of the Fifth Ward of New Martinsville at 509 Briarcliff Court. He has been married for the last 10 years to Tina Marie Briggs of New Martinsville and they have been blessed with two daughters, Brooklynn, six, and Holland, four.

He is a member of the WV ICAC (Internet Crimes Against Children) Task Force recently formed by the West Virginia State Police, where he is a computer investigator and public education instructor. He is a member of the Mid-Ohio Valley Region Antique Car Club of America, where he has served as vice president for the past two years.

For the police department he also write grants, maintains the police department computer network and computer systems, and maintains both the city of New Martinsville and police department Web sites



If you were given $50,000 to spend on the city in any manner you wish, what would you do with it and why?



Blackburn: A dollar seems to be an insignificant amount but when you need one and don’t have one and can’t get one this can become alarming. For most cities, $50,000 may seem like a small amount, but for New Martinsville it is a very significant amount. There are many needs that must be prioritized and the city council would make the decision of how the money would be spent.



Estep: I feel there are a multitude of uses for $50,000 for the city of New Martinsville right now, but the most important thing for the future stability of the city is to put that money towards getting the city back on its feet financially.

The city has amassed an enormous amount of debt over the years and unfortunately has fallen behind in several areas of the budget, but things are looking brighter on the horizon, the city is making efforts right now to pay off the city building, which is a tremendous step in the right direction. I feel that $50,000 would help the city take that step even further by catching up on many budgetary shortfalls that have been caused by this enormous debt.



Potts: I would use the $50,000 on street repairs and upgrades. This issue has been a top concern of the residents in Ward Five for many years. We have streets that are sinking in and full of potholes. The condition of the streets makes it dangerous and difficult to run or walk on them.



What would you do to try to get more businesses to locate in New Martinsville?



Blackburn: If elected, my goal would be to work with city, county, and state officials, agencies, and organizations to actively seek out and “recruit” strong and sound companies and businesses that would benefit by locating in New Martinsville. We would try to “recruit” the companies and businesses that would revitalize our economy and bring jobs back to New Martinsville.



Estep: This is a primary focus of my campaign, I feel not only is it a budgetary concern, but it is mandatory for the future of our city. Unfortunately we have seen a lot of businesses come and go over the past years and it really has put a strain on the economy here, but once again I see hope for a brighter tomorrow.

To draw businesses to town I would love to see some sort of a favorable tax break for a new business’s first year to help them get their business off the ground. Too often I have seen a business start in this town only to fail during the first year, this may help to remedy this problem. Also I think that the city may look into publishing some type of guide that focuses on the businesses of this town that describes what they do and what services they may offer. These may be distributed at local hotels for guests to our city and at local establishments for new residents to have access to. Finally I think that the city needs to take notice of every new business that starts in the city, whether big or small.



Potts: In order to attract businesses we need to make it attractive to do so. I will try to get council to eliminate the B&O tax on new businesses for their first year and reduce rates for the next four years. This gives businesses a chance to become stable financially.

I will also work with all groups that have economic development committees so we all are on the same page and not just duplicating each other’s work.



Name one city issue you would like to see addressed and how specifically you would work to rectify it.



Blackburn: New Martinsville has many issues that need to be resolved so focusing on just one would not be prudent. If elected, I would diligently work to identify and prioritize all of the city’s issues and then use common sense to work toward a cost-effective resolution that is acceptable to the citizens of new Martinsville.

In return for your support, I promise to use common sense and sound judgment to help effect change for the betterment of New Martinsville. I welcome contact from all wishing to discuss any issues or concerns.



Estep: One issue I see that I would like to change is the lack of resident involvement in our city government. I don’t feel that the people of our town have much say when it comes to issues that affect them. I have attended several city council meetings and too often I see; decisions from city council are often made behind closed doors when the average resident is not present and then during the meeting where the public is in attendance they are told of what decisions were made during the little meeting before the meeting. I think we need to make things more public and less behind closed doors. The residents of this community have every right to know what is going on in their city. We need to get more residents in attendance to the council meetings so that their opinions may be expressed so that city council can make a well, informed decision on their behalf. If elected I promise to work with the residents of the Fifth Ward so that I can make decisions based on what they want to better the community that we live in. I believe that if we all work together we can continue to make this one of the finest communities in West Virginia.



Potts: I would like to see respect and trust of the city government restored. I will encourage all residents to attend council meetings so they can see their government at work. I also plan to hold “ward meetings” at least twice a year so those in Ward Five can express their concerns to me. I will encourage council members from the other wards to hold this type of meeting in their wards also.