Issues & Accomplishments

Working together, we can build the Charleston we want to see.

Emmett’s Priorities:

Creating Momentum for Economic Development and Diversification

Charleston is well-positioned to be a hub for entrepreneurs who want a hassle-free, small-town lifestyle with the arts and culture perks of a larger city. We can do more to make it easier for small business owners to thrive in Charleston. We can start by having someone to help them navigate and streamline processes so that entrepreneurs can focus more on what is needed to grow and sustain their businesses.

Helping Charleston Families

So many families in West Virginia are having to spend too much time on basic necessities and not enough on the things that enrich their lives. We can enact policies that help our families thrive by protecting them from predatory practices and hurdles that get in the way of finding success. Whether it means addressing rate increases from electric and water companies or encouraging better benefits to workers, leaders in Charleston have an important role to play in improving the lives of the people living in households across the entire city.

Making Our Community Sustainable

Creating opportunities for Charleston residents to have better access to exercise, outdoor recreation activities, and alternative transportation makes our community a more enjoyable place to live.

We also need to make healthy and sustainable choices as a city to responsibly use resources, protecting nature and public health. This means improved recycling, less reliance on polluting sources of energy, and better enjoyment of the outdoors and nature for all.

Accomplishments

Emmett’s 4th year in office (2025):

  • Worked with Mayor Goodwin and her Administration, the Green Team, and nonprofit partners to secure competitive funding to increase access to help to reduce energy costs for the city, its residents, and businesses. The programs will be rolled out in 2026.
  • Organized a sign-on letter that nearly all members of Council signed in opposition to Appalachian Power (APCo) rate increases. In his day job, Emmett successfully advocated to protect low-income programs for APCo customers, as well as to lower the LED streetlight rates charged to the cities.
  • Collaborated with arts organizations to ensure no unforeseen consequences or harm from fee changes at the Charleston Convention Center & Coliseum (CCCC).
  • Saw a new monarch butterfly garden along the Boulevard get installed by the Public Grounds Department, with help from the Municipal Beautification Commission, after working with them in 2024 on the plans for it. In 2025, Emmett continued to work to protect and enhance the beauty of it.
  • Brought back films to the former Park Place Cinemas, for a weekend in November, through his role as a board member of the West Virginia International Film Festival, as well as city council. Mayor Goodwin, Parking Director Terri Allen, WVIFF President Delford Chaffin, and so many more did a lot of work to make that happen.
  • Worked with city boards to increase transparency through clearer agendas and more information on the city’s online information portal (CivicClerk).
  • Had a new crosswalk installed at Washington Street East and Sidney (near the AIDS Memorial/McDonald’s), working with Streets Director Matt Hartline and the Green Team’s Quenton King.
  • Collaborated with the Banska Bystrica, Slovakia Sister City Alliance to continue to strengthen the ties between our cities. For the first time since the COVID-19 pandemic, exchange students from Charleston went to Slovakia, and we had students come here from Banska Bystrica.
  • Led a conversation and collaboration with Mayor Goodwin, East End residents, Councilmember Mary Beth Hoover, and others to discuss parking options for street sweeping.
    • We went door-to-door, had a public meeting, and had many conversations. The end result reflected the input of a wide variety of East End residents. We learned that there are differences of opinion about street sweeping parking enforcement, but that most residents support it.
    • Introduced and passed a bill changing all street sweeping operations (where parking is enforced) to occur in the afternoons on Tuesdays and Wednesdays, starting with 2026, instead of some occurring first thing in the morning, which was less convenient for residents.
  • Worked with residents to address many hyperlocal issues and answer questions relating to a variety of topics ranging from potholes to drainage issues, to cable TV service, to opioid settlement funds.
  • Through his role on the Spring Hill Cemetery Commission, worked to ensure the viability and preservation of the Spring Hill Cemetery Park and Arboretum.
  • Participated in the annual Team Up to Clean Up, with his son Adlai, as he does every year.

Emmett’s 3rd year in office (2024):

  • Updated the traffic code to improve cycling laws in Charleston, in advance of the USA Cycling Pro Road National Championships, and as part of Bike Safety Month in May. The unanimously-approved ordinance that Emmett authored and was lead sponsor of:
    • Removes outdated provisions,
    • Makes the city code more aligned with state code, and
    • Improves how cycling laws are enforced.
  • Through his work on the Land Reuse Agency, Emmett was part of launching a groundbreaking incentive program to incentivize construction of new homes in the city. New construction more than tripled due to the program.
  • Worked with Mayor Goodwin, the Municipal Beautification Commission, and the Green Team to make Charleston into an official “Tree City USA,” a designation that shows Charleston’s commitment to trees and natural environments. Charleston is the first city in the state to obtain this designation in a decade or more, and the 17th overall.
  • Co-sponsored a bill led by Councilmember Pharr to streamline the vendor process, so more people can easily operate small businesses in Charleston.
  • Collaborated with the Green Team and the City Manager to secure federal funding to reduce the city’s energy expenses paid by taxpayers and implement the 2021 law that Emmett helped enact with the late John Kennedy Bailey.
  • Provided input and ideas for the Capital Connector Project, to improve walkability, attractiveness, natural features, and bike-ability along the Boulevard east of the Elk River.
  • Asked the tough questions needed to ensure that the best decision is made on whether to have a new Municipal Auditorium that incorporates the current building, or one that does not.
  • Advocated to maintain the integrity of Council processes by advocating that all votes in the city relate to the powers of the city, not that of state, federal, or international governments.
  • Participated in the annual Team Up to Clean Up, with his son Adlai, as he does every year.

Emmett’s 2nd year in office (2023):

  • Lead sponsor of a resolution and bill that protects public lands in the city by setting goals to:
    • Have a public park within a half mile walk of 75% of the city’s population;
    • Protect 5% of the city as public parkland ;
    • Protect 3% of the city’s natural landscapes;
    • Use more native plants, reduce pesticides, and operate bird-safe buildings; and
    • Protect habitats for endangered species and species needing conservation, including monarch butterflies.
  • Building on the success in 2022 to legalize electric scooter use to draft and pass an operating agreement with the Bird scooter rental company, so they can rent scooters in a safe and effective manner to people in Charleston.
  • Continuing to work with the Goodwin Administration to find a local solution for recycling to avoid excess costs taking our recyclables to Beckley, and with the Green Team to make city government more sustainable and improve recycling rates.
  • Led work with colleagues on Council to send letters to the Public Service Commission in opposition to utility rate increases, especially when hundreds on the West Side lost gas heat as the result of a water break.
  • Continuing to serve on the Charleston Land Reuse Agency to address vacant and dilapidated buildings and make good use of vacant properties. In 2024, the CLRA has in place some important incentives to encourage redevelopment.
  • Continue serving on the Spring Hill Cemetery Commission, where there is a City Arborist working, for the first time in many years. The City Arborist is implementing good tree management practices, not just in the Spring Hill Cemetery Park and its Mary Price Ratrie Arboretum, but across the city.
  • Worked with Councilmember Faegre on a resolution recognizing the importance of preserving our historic brick streets.
  • Putting in the legwork to help constituents with their specific needs and hyperlocal concerns from drains to parking to street signs

Emmett’s 1st year in office (2022):

  • Lead sponsor of a bipartisan bill that strengthened the vacant structures registry — to make it harder for people to harm our neighborhoods by having vacant buildings.
  • Worked with Mayor Goodwin to create the Small Business Liaison position.
  • Helping implement a program to save taxpayers 25% or more on energy costs in 10 years, which I helped enact prior to being in office, working with the late John Kennedy Bailey.
  • Increased fines for littering in the city.
  • Lead sponsor of the bipartisan bill that legalized electric scooters.
  • Working with the Administration and Councilmember Caitlin Cook to find a local solution for recycling to avoid excess costs taking our recyclables to Beckley.
  • Worked with colleagues on Council to send a letter to Joe Manchin in support of passing what became the Inflation Reduction Act.
  • Worked with the mayor on a proclamation recognizing our sister city in Slovakia’s support of Ukrainian refugees.
  • Worked with colleagues on Council to send a letter to the West Virginia Public Service Commission in opposition to the latest rate increase proposed by Appalachian Power.
  • Introduced a bipartisan consumer protection bill to protect against unscrupulous companies that make home improvements, sell our personal data, etc.
  • Serving on the Charleston Land Reuse Agency to dig in and tackle vacant and dilapidated buildings, while finding a way to redevelop lots, one property at a time.
  • Serving on the Spring Hill Cemetery Commission, working to make the cemetery a place to not just respect the dead, but also protect and experience nature.
  • Putting in the legwork to help constituents with their specific needs and hyperlocal concerns from drains to parking to street signs.

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“I’m working alongside residents who want to see a Charleston that is welcoming and safe for families, where businesses and the arts are thriving and putting dollars back into our local economy, and where the city is a more sustainable place for all. Let’s get to work – together.”

emmett pepper