1.Tell us a little bit about yourself and your experience/accomplishments:
Hello to everyone. My name is Matthew Epling and I am running for Division 6 Magistrate in Raleigh County, West Virginia. I am a lifelong resident of Beckley and have been involved in community service my entire life. I am happily married, with three beautiful children. Many people know me from my involvement at the Linda K Epling Baseball stadium.
I served as the Director of Entertainment. I have been a former pastor with 20 years of service, while also owning “Auto Detailing by M.E.” for 10 years in downtown Beckley. While working for myself and working in the church world, I was also fulfilling my duties as a Sergeant within Southern Regional Jail. I began that career in 1997. during my 13 plus years inside the West Virginia Regional Jail Authority, I was given the responsibilities of being an in-house Magistrate/hearing officer/ Supervisor over the Booking department. In that capacity, I handled the arraignment and bonding process with 7 counties and their magistrates.
I was responsible for reading and executing court orders, classifying inmates sentence status, calculating early release allotment for good behavior, and the disciplinary procedures when inmates would violate institutional rules. These punishments would include, but were not limited to solitary confinement, restitution, revocation of good time, and potential relocation to other facilities. I have successfully completed 3 Corrections academy’s, two in West Virginia and 1 in the Commonwealth of Virginia. Combined, I have almost 21 years in the corrections industry. I have almost 3 years of college credits and am currently completing my education at Concord University. I have successfully completed credited hours in Criminal law, procedural law, ethics, Criminal Investigation, and several others that center their attention on criminal justice and rule of law.
2.What motivated you to run for Magistrate?
For the last 8 years, I have had a desire to run for a magistrate position. In November of last year, several individuals came to me and stated that they felt this would be the appropriate time to run for this position. I am in Division 6. This is a brand-new division where there is no incumbent. I talked it over with several members of my family and friends and they reinforced that my philosophy of being FAIR, FIRM, and CONSISTENT were attributes that would make a well-rounded magistrate in our local area.
I believe in order to be a well-rounded magistrate, you have to be able to think clearly, process information with resolve, and then follow the statutes and laws with steadfastness. I am a supporter of both the 2nd Amendment and parents being able to protect their children. I consider myself a well-rounded true conservative. The values that my parents have given me, and the values the church has instilled in me, makes me the best person to oversee the responsibilities in the magistrate position.
3.What are some issues facing Raleigh County right now that you would like to see addressed? How would you attempt resolving those issues?
As a magistrate, my focus will be protecting and upholding the rule of law. Fairly dissecting evidence presented, while placing a firm loyalty to the statutes and regulations set forth in our local and state laws, will be a major role in resolving the narcotic epidemic in our area and It is the foundation that will resolve the lawlessness on our streets. Lastly, it will protect our children from abusers and manipulators. We have a right to feel safe in our community and I feel that starts with a magistrate who will be fair, firm, and consistent.
4. What makes you stand out from the rest of the candidates, what do you bring to the table that they don’t?
Division 6 is a new division. There is no incumbent to critique their successes and failures. In my division there are a total of 4 choices. I am the only true conservative in this division. The rest of the candidates have more liberal views than I do. I believe that those with addictions should not receive special treatment when imposing sanctions for their behavior. On the other hand, I do not believe that being a “hangman judge” is the answer either. I want to stand with law enforcement, with law abiding citizens, with God fearing communities, and validate the reality that by closely adhering to the laws, makes a well-rounded administrator for enforcing fairness.
5. Is there anything else voters should know about you and your campaign?
My campaign is centered on the fact that I am qualified to be a magistrate for Raleigh County because I have the education, the experience, and the inner fortitude that comes from participating my entire life around environments that validate my strengths as being fair, firm, and consistent. I feel I am the serious choice for Division 6. I feel the citizens of Raleigh County, when looking at this division, will clearly see the maturity, knowledge, and resolve that separates me from the field of other candidates in Division 6.