CLARKSBURG, W.Va. (WDTV) - Clarksburg City Council swore in three members on Monday.

Marc Jackson and Martin Howe were reelected but joining them was new face, Ryan Deems, who is looking forward to serving his hometown in city hall.

“I started running for political office in 2019, and I’ve won a couple of primary elections but never a general election, and so to finally get over the hump, so to speak, and to be able to serve my community is really exciting, and I’m excited for what the future is going to hold,” Deems said.

Deems defeated Hattie Wright in the election, and he plans to focus on community engagement during the beginning of his term.

“I wanna make sure that people know the government is working for them, and the government is part of the community. I think there have been a lot of good ideas in Clarksburg. I think sometimes we don’t work together well enough to really push the image that Clarksburg is a great place to work and live,” Deems said. “The area has been strongly effected by the opioid crisis and further back when people talk about Clarksburg of the old days they are really talking about the sixties and seventies.”

Deems did not get into this race necessarily to beat anyone but to bring a new generation of leadership to city hall.

“Being younger and not having kids yet and having a spouse that is not from Clarksburg, I think it’s time for young leadership to take part in our government and in our city and I just hope that I can do everyone proud,” Deems said.