Jim Priester of Fairmont, West Virginia was born October 21, 1955 to H.G. & Patricia Priester. He was educated in Fairmont public schools, graduating from Fairmont Senior High School and Fairmont State College.
Mr. Priester began working in the Marion County Assessor’s Office in 1992 in the reappraisal program. In 1994 he received his certification from the International Association of Assessing Officers and became a commercial appraiser in the office. In 1999, the assessor resigned, and Jim was nominated to fill his unexpired term. In 2000, he was elected as Marion County’s Assessor for a four-year term. In 2001, he was nominated and elected the Third Vice-President of the Assessor’s Association. He currently holds the position of Second Vice-President. In October 2001, he was appointed to the State Wide Mapping and Addressing Board representing the Association of Counties.
He is married to the former Sonja Painter and has two sons, Stefan, 5, and Carter, 3. They reside in Fairmont.