Sen. Maroney Arrested And Asked To Step Down

State Sen. Mike Maroney, R-Marshall, was arrested on Monday for suspicion of driving under the influence. This is his third arrest since his tenure as a state senator began in 2016. His other arrests were for solicitation of a prostitute and indecent exposure. 

Now the Monongalia County GOP has asked him to step down. Maroney’s district encompasses nine counties: Marshall, Monongalia, Wetzel, Marion, Tyler, Doddridge, Ritchie, Gilmer, and Calhoun. 

Ethan Moore is the county party chairman. He says that Maroney no longer represents his district’s values. 

“We believe that we deserve representation that represents our goals and our values,” Moore said. “The actions that Senator Maroney has taken here recently, and the issues that have caused him to be arrested for allegations, we don’t believe, represent those values and goals of our community and our constituents.”

He says absenteeism has also been a problem with the senator. Maroney was absent during the May special session, and all the interim sessions since. 

He said in a message to the senator, that he hopes he gets better.  

“Take care of yourself, straighten out your life and focus on recovery and making sure that you’re leading a life worth leading,“ Moore said.  

Moore is asking the governor to grant Senate leadership the ability to remove Maroney from office if he fails to resign. Following his last arrest Maroney was removed from all of his committee assignments, including the health committee that he chaired.  

Maroney lost his May primary election, his term is set to expire in January. 

Maroney made headlines in the last regular session for his attempts to block a bill that would roll back vaccine regulation in the state for school children. The bill was ultimately passed by the legislature and then vetoed by Gov. Jim Justice.