A week after the Kanawha County Commission announced Dave Hardy's upcoming departure to work as secretary of West Virginia's Department of Revenue, residents hoping to fill the vacant seat are coming out of the woodwork.
As of Tuesday afternoon, the only person who had formally applied for the seat was Charleston City Treasurer Victor Grigoraci. Still, other candidates are making their intentions known.
Grigoraci is in his fourth term as city treasurer.
"As soon as I saw the opening, I jumped at it," he said.
Grigoraci said his years of experience as a certified public accountant and work on budgets in the private and public sectors qualify him for a seat on the County Commission.
Grigoraci also is a co-founder of FestivALL and the West Virginia International Film Festival and was a president of the Charleston Rotary Club.
Grigoraci said he still would work as city treasurer if elected to the County Commission, as both are part-time positions.
"I spoke with the county Prosecuting Attorney [Chuck Miller], and it's not a problem ... as long as there's no conflict in particular," he said.
Also vying for the vacant seat on the commission are Todd Goldman, son of former Charleston Mayor Jay Goldman; local attorneys Ben Salango and Jesse Forbes; and West Virginia Association of Counties Director Patti Hamilton.
Goldman, vice president of the real estate firm Goldman Associates Inc., said he's ready to put the skills he's honed for the past two decades to work in the public sector.
"Every day, for 20-some years, I've helped people make decisions about investing in our community," Goldman said.
He added that he wants to help make Kanawha County a more attractive place to live for younger generations, including his three children.
Goldman is chairman of the Kanawha Valley Regional Transportation Authority's Board of Members and sits on the Yeager Airport board, both of which are county agencies.
Ben Salango, who holds the position of finance chairman on the Kanawha County Democratic Executive Committee, also plans to apply for the seat.
Salango said his family, friends and law partner encouraged him to apply.
"Several people approached me about whether I'd be interested," he said. "Over the years, I've been able to operate several successful businesses, but also have done a lot of community service."
Salango, who started his own firm in 2006 and specializes in personal injury law, said he worked to help save the soccer fields at Trace Fork, has sponsored the annual Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure and was a founding member of Charleston Montessori School.
Jesse Forbes, another interested candidate, said whoever is elected to the seat will have "tremendous shoes to fill."
A Kanawha County native, Forbes said he moved back home to raise his family after graduating from law school.
"There are so many counties around us that have struggled [with] problems, and we're in a financially sound, good position," he said.
Forbes said he's held positions on the county's Mental Hygiene Commission, Kanawha County Drug Court, the Day Report board and the Kanawha County Sheriff Civil Service Commission.
He's also a member of the city's Municipal Planning Commission.
"I want to make this place the best it can be for our kids," Forbes said. "I saw so many friends who weren't able to find a position in West Virginia to come back and raise a family. It's important to have a perspective of people doing that, [and] I feel I can offer something in that regard."
Patti Hamilton is retiring June 30 after 20 years as director of the West Virginia Association of Counties. She said she's always wanted to hold a seat in public office if the opportunity arose.
Given her experience with the agency that represents all the state's counties and county-level elected officials, Hamilton said, she has a broad perspective of the responsibilities of those officials, including county commissioners.
For example, she said, counties aren't constitutionally required to have economic development initiatives, "but those kinds of things really make people appreciate county government, and Kanawha County has been very good at doing those kinds of things and going above and beyond."
Hamilton said much of her community involvement has been work related. She chairs the West Virginia Community Corrections Subcommittee, sits on the Law Enforcement Professional Standards Subcommittee and recently joined the board of the West Virginia Partnership for Elder Living.
The County Commission will accept résumés and cover letters from interested applicants no later than 5 p.m. Jan. 30.
Applicants will be interviewed during a public meeting by Commissioners Kent Carper and Hoppy Shores, tentatively scheduled for 5 p.m. Feb. 2.
If Carper and Shores can't agree on who to appoint to fill the vacancy, the decision will be made by the county's Democratic Executive Committee.
Reach Elaina Sauber at elaina.sauber@wvgazettemail.com, 304-348-3051 or follow @ElainaSauber on Twitter.