Marion County Assessor candidate Jason Smith wants to bring new energy and ideas to office
May 4—FAIRMONT — Jason Smith wants to make Marion County boom again.
For that, however, he'll need influence and becoming County Assessor might just help him get what he needs.
"I've heard of a time when downtown was booming with business," Smith said. "Any influence I could have over helping the small businesses with tax incentives, I would like to get in there and work to see what we could actually do to rejuvenate downtown Fairmont."
Smith is one of two candidates running for the Republican nomination for county assessor on the May 14 ballot. Whoever wins the primary will face Democratic incumbent Assessor Mark Trach in November.
It's important to note the assessor does not set property tax. The office provides value data to each levying body. Taxes are determined by the levying body.
Smith is a landlord, he owns several properties throughout Fairmont. He has an education degree from Fairmont State University but considers himself more business and politics oriented.
"I'm passionate about our city," he said. "I've been here over 20 years."
Smith has big ideas for the county assessor's office but he's not raring to change everything overnight. He's ready to learn from current employees on how to do the job well. As a landlord who manages several properties, he said land and property values intrigue him.
Once he has a better grasp on what being assessor entails, Smith hopes he can bring new ideas and approach the office from a business-oriented perspective.
"I think you can look at things from a different lens," he said. "I don't have experience being an assessor or in politics, but I think that could be beneficial because I've done a good job in the private sector rejuvenating land and whatnot."
Smith has extensive experience redeveloping old buildings and making them look better. His work in that field has contributed to his understanding of land is worth and what they could be. He has over 10 years of experience as a landlord and redeveloper.
Although Smith admits he might not have control over this, one thing he would like to explore as assessor is using tax incentives to encourage landlords to take over dilapidated properties in order to either rehab them or tear them down.
"Could that be a way we save the city and the taxpayer some money, if we gave the landlord or developer more of a break," he said.
Smith hopes this idea will remove more of the burden of demolishing abandoned properties from the City. Overall, he wants to find ways to collect money for the city while giving breaks out to residents like seniors and property developers. He wants to make money in a way that works for everyone.
Smith has sights beyond assessor. He wants to work his way to City Council, collecting influence along the way to make his ideas to improve the city reality. However, before doing so he wants to learn all the intricacies he can about the way things currently work. The assessor's office is a good place to start, he said.
"I think just more of my interest is in land and how that works, I feel like that's the ground floor," he said. "If I can understand how that all works and then if I do become a councilman, now I have an understanding of how things operate."
Which brought Smith to why the assessor's office is important. He said taxes fund things like roads, fire, police and other important services. At the same time, he wants to make sure property owners are receiving fair value for their property and not being overburdened by taxes.
Smith's favorite book is by self help author Napoleon Hill, titled "Think and Grow Rich." Smith discovered the book through one of the podcasts he listens to. The book preaches that everything starts with a mindset, belief or attitude.
"That gentleman interviewed the likes of Henry Ford and all these powerhouse individuals," he said. "I think there's a lot to learn there. I'm fascinated by history. Also, the power of positive mental attitude."
Reach Esteban at efernandez@timeswv.com
