Charleston Mayor Danny Jones announced he will recommend a former city council candidate to fill the vacant Ward 17 seat.
Jones recommended Bobby Johnson, who works in sales for WCHS-TV, to fill the vacant seat on council. Ward 17 encompasses Kanawha City.
Johnson ran for an at-large City Council seat in 2015 as a Republican. In the general election, he finished last in a field of 10 candidates.
Former council member Rusty Webb resigned Tuesday after less than four months on council to represent the city in upcoming opioid litigation. Webb will serve as co-counsel for the case, with Jesse Forbes of Charleston-based Forbes Law Offices.
"My civic nature is still there. I'm serving the city by helping it fight the war against opioids instead of being a council member," Webb said.
If council agrees to appoint Johnson, he would finish Webb's term, which ends following the next city election in November 2018. Webb was appointed to replaced longtime councilman John Miller, who resigned.
"Bobby Johnson is involved in our community in many different ways and shares my passion that we need to look to the next generations in making decisions about Charleston in the present for the future," Jones said in a statement released by Rod Blackstone, senior assistant to the mayor.
Reach Ali Schmitz at ali.schmitz@wvgazettemail.com, 304-348-4843 or follow @SchmitzMedia on Twitter.