West Virginia Record

CHARLESTON - Bill Murray, a lifelong resident of Kanawha County and a Charleston attorney, has filed to run for Kanawha County prosecutor.

Murray, an attorney for more than 25 years, said he filed with hopes of bringing the office back to the prestige and efficiency it had when he started his legal career.

"When I first started practicing law, (the prosecutor's office) was probably the best law office in Kanawha County, if not the state of West Virginia," he said. "It is no longer perceived that way, and I would like to see it return to that old image."

The prosecutor's office, which is currently led by Bill Charnock, is one that Murray says he has looked up to for many years, but feels it has been slipping.

"I believe that in recent years the Kanawha County prosecutor's office has not lived up to its potential," said Murray, who is the first to file for the position. "I think that I can bring a certain professionalism to the office that it once had and is now lost."

Murray, a Democrat, has been an attorney for 25 years as well as a business owner and Kanawha County trial court administrator. A graduate of the West Virginia University College of Law, Murray was also a Legal Studies instructor at Marshall University for four semesters.

He said he believes he has the right experience to help him be a successful prosecutor.

"I believe I bring the administrative, as well as legal, abilities to do the job properly and make the changes necessary to bring it up to its highest potential," Murray said.

Murray said his personal experience with cases and clients going through the courts system in Kanawha County has shown him firsthand what needs to be changed.

"I would like to see greater efficiency and quicker turn-around time on cases," he said.

Charnock, a Republican, said it is too early in the process to decide if he is going to run for re-election.