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PARKERSBURG -- The race for the District 7 Parkersburg City Council seat will be contested in the general election.
Thomas Rafferty was appointed Friday to run for the seat by the Parkersburg Democratic Executive Committee, consisting of Wood County committee members who live in the city. No Democrats had filed to run for the position by the Jan. 25 deadline for the primary.
Rafferty, 63, retired after 36 years working for Borg-Warner, GE and Sabic. He said he was approached by members of the executive committee about making his first run for public office.
"I've gotten a little politically vocal on Facebook before," Rafferty said. "I kind of thought, well, rather than just talking, I could maybe do something."
Rafferty will appear, unopposed, on the May primary ballot.
In the general election, Rafferty will face the Republican nominee, either middle school teacher Chris Rexroad or stay-at-home mom Charity Wise.
The seat is occupied now by Councilman John Reed, a Democrat and the only incumbent who decided not to seek re-election.
Evan Bevins can be reached at ebevins@newsandsentinel.com.