PARKERSBURG – With the 2016 General Election approaching in November, Wood County Democrats took another step in their efforts to win local, state and federal offices with the opening of the local party headquarters on Tuesday.

Jane Burdette, chairman of the Wood County Democratic Executive Committee, said candidates, volunteers and interested party members gathered for a cookout and kickoff from 4-7 p.m. Tuesday at the Wood County Democratic Headquarters at 1206 Market St. in downtown Parkersburg.

Candidates at the city, county and state level spent time Tuesday at the grand opening, along with representatives from some of the federal races under contention in the upcoming election.

“It’s giving (voters and volunteers) the chance to talk to their candidates, whether it be a city councilman or a candidate running for the Senate or House of Delegates; we’ve had them all here,” Burdette said.

The Democratic headquarters will be open from 11 a.m.-6 p.m. Monday through Saturday leading up to the election on Nov. 8 and “this is just the beginning of a bunch of activities we have going on,” Burdette said.

The county Democratic executive committee will hold its monthly meeting at 6:30 p.m. Thursday at the Parkersburg Municipal Building and the annual soup bean and cornbread lunch at City Park will be held in late September, she said.

The headquarters will serve as a clearing house for campaign materials, candidate contacts and information, and resources for candidates and voters.

“We’ve had a tremendous response from people wanting signs, so we’re well stocked with all kinds of signs, bumper stickers – all kinds of candidate materials,” Burdette said.

Judy Stephens is chairman of the party headquarters, organizing the volunteers who will keep it staffed during the campaign season. A total of 22 volunteers have signed up and more are always needed, she said, adding she can be contacted at 304-482-6203.

“It’s an opportunity for them to meet and speak with the public. It’s also an opportunity for them to educate themselves and learn by the sharing of information because when people come in they want to talk and they want to speak with people of like mind,” Stephens said, adding volunteers are essential. “Without the volunteers we couldn’t do it.”

One of the candidates at Tuesday’s opening was David Bland, who is running for the District 8 House of Delegates seat in his first campaign as a candidate. After no Democrats filed for the seat leading up to the May primary, Bland asked that he be appointed to run by the Democratic Executive Committee and he will appear on the November ballot.

Bland said he disagrees with many of the actions taken by the Republican-led West Virginia Legislature in the last couple of sessions, believing they are detrimental to West Virginia’s jobs and economy.

He believes the support provided to Democratic candidates through the headquarters is important.

“It’s good to see all of these people show up,” he said at Tuesday’s grand opening. “We need a lot of support in the community to get people out, get people talking and get people out to vote.”