PARKERSBURG - After announcing there might not be a Democratic candidate for the Fourth District Parkersburg City Council seat in November's election, a candidate has been certified for the seat.
Harold Brown, chairman of the Wood County Democratic Executive Committee, said the party has certified Kim Coram as the new candidate for the Fourth District.
Brown said Coram lives in the 10th Precinct, one of four that make up the Fourth District.
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Candidate Kim Coram has come forward to fill the vacancy on the Democratic side in the Parkersburg City Council Fourth District city council race. Coram is co-owner and editor of the Online Physical Activity Magazine.
"We met with her (Friday) and we have qualified and certified her for election," he said. "We think because of her involvement in many community activities she will do well at this. At the start we said we were not going to put someone on the ballot just to have someone on the ballot."
Coram said she decided to make her first run at a political office when she knew of the vacancy.
"I noticed they did not have a candidate so I decided to run," she said. "I live in the district and I love it and wanted to do something."
Coram, who is co-owner and editor of the Online Physical Activity Magazine, said she would be able to balance city council duties with her other work with the magazine, the Johnson T. Janes Park and the Parkersburg Bike Day.
"I retired when I was 42 years old and I am now self-employed and have my own schedule with what I do with Bike Day and Janes Park," she said.
Coram said she never considered running for public office before.
"I've always felt I did civic duty through volunteer work," she said. "I used to be a government employee and feel it is an extension of what I've done and felt I could do well."
Since she is new to the political field, Brown said he and others in the Democratic party think she will run a good campaign. He said the party was able to get Coram on the ballot near the end of the day on the final deadline.
"We had her at the city clerk's office at 4:20 p.m. Friday," he said. "We told the clerk we had something and they were prepared to be open late."
Brown said one person approached by the executive committee for the seat was not interested and one person who contacted him about the seat did not live in the district.
On July 21, the party's nominee for the seat, James Myers, died at age 70. Myers previously served a term on city council from 2005-2008 and was to run in November against incumbent Republican councilman John Sandy, a retired Parkersburg firefighter.
