Current Bridgeport Council member and city businessman Jeff Smell has filed to run for City Council in the June 11 Bridgeport Municipal Election.

 

The first day to file a certificate declaring candidacy was Jan. 14. That process will be open through Thursday, April 11. Smell is the first applicant in the Council race thus far, said City Clerk Donna Krivosky.

 

Two Council members will be elected, as well as a new city recorder to four-year terms. Elected in June of 2015 for four-year terms were Council member Jeff Smell, Council member Lowell “L.J.” Maxey and Recorder Dr. Hank “Harry” Murray.

 

Since 2010, Smell has owned and is the sole member of Country Roads Leasing, LLC in Bridgeport, which facilitating equipment financing for West Virginia municipalities and other governmental agencies.  The 45-year-old is a 1991 graduate and former athlete of Bridgeport High School and a 1998 graduate of West Virginia University, from where he received a master’s degree in athletic training. Smell also attended Alderson Broaddus College (now University) where he studied sports medicine. Since 2011, he has served on the Bridgeport Development Authority board. He lives in Bridgeport with his wife Cyndy and their 12-year-old triplets who attend Bridgeport Middle School.

 

To run for one of the three positions, certificates must be filed with the City Clerk’s office accompanied by a $25 filing fee no later than 4 p.m. Thursday, April 11, 2019. The election is nonpartisan, and any person who is a qualified voter of the City of Bridgeport may file.

 

A qualified voter is anyone who is a minimum of 18 years of age, a resident of Bridgeport, and not under conviction of a felony or other disqualification. Certificates declaring candidacy may be obtained at Bridgeport City Hall, 515 West Main Street, between the hours of 7:30 a.m. and 4 p.m. Monday through Friday.