Election Could Negate Search For Jefferson Co. Commissioner

Turmoil over vacancy proceedings has plagued the Jefferson County Commission since the summer of 2023. That’s when former Commissioner Claire Ath stepped down from office, triggering a dispute over her successor.

Two commissioners, Jennifer Krouse and Tricia Jackson, disapproved of the candidates for Ath’s replacement, with Krouse saying online that they were not “actual conservatives.”

In protest, Krouse and Jackson refused to attend seven consecutive meetings, stalling the county government and later resulting in their removal from office.

One year after the conflict, confusion surrounding vacancy proceedings has surfaced again. Only this time, the looming general election in November could render another search for a successor inconsequential.

The court decision

In August, the West Virginia Supreme Court of Appeals upheld an earlier circuit court decision that removed Krouse and Jackson from office.

In the months between the May circuit court decision and the August supreme court decision, the commission was permitted to select temporary, stand-in commissioners without a full appointment process.

They chose James Cook to represent Krouse’s Shepherdstown District, and Kevin Upson to represent Jackson’s Harpers Ferry District.

The supreme court decision affirmed that Krouse and Jackson could not return to office, triggering a full appointment process. Under state law, this process requires identifying a successor “of the same political party” as the outgoing commissioner upon their departure.

For Jackson’s former district, that meant finding a Republican.

But days before her removal, Krouse — elected as a “staunch, God-fearing Republican” in 2022 — switched political affiliations to West Virginia’s Mountain Party, a state affiliate of the left-leaning Green Party of the United States.

This meant her successor had to come from the Mountain Party, a minor party with fewer than 2,500 members statewide and just 145 in Jefferson County.

Starting the search

In May, then-Mountain Party Chair Denise Binion told West Virginia Public Broadcasting she was unsure why Krouse switched affiliations, because her “politics don’t match the party at all.”

At the time, Krouse did not respond to requests for comment. But her switch came after months of dispute with the local Republican party.

Earlier this year, the county government fallout led the West Virginia Legislature to reform county commission vacancy protocols.

Successors soon must come from an outgoing commissioner’s party upon election. But that policy only takes effect at the start of 2025, meaning Krouse’s replacement still must be a member of the Mountain Party.

Per state law, the Jefferson County Commission had 30 days after vacancy proceedings began to find replacements independently. They quickly reappointed Upson to represent Harpers Ferry.

For Krouse’s former district, the Mountain Party State Executive Committee recommended Todd Cotgreave, a former mayoral candidate in Shepherdstown, according to current Mountain Party Chair Dylan Parsons. 

But Commission President Steve Stolipher said they could not agree upon a member of the Mountain Party to represent Shepherdstown.

“We interviewed some Mountain Party candidates. It just so happened to be a tie,” he said. This disagreement meant the commission was unable to find a replacement within 30 days.

Parsons is skeptical that the party was simply unable to agree.

“The Mountain Party platform advocates for reforming county commissions, including reducing the length of terms for commissioners,” he wrote in an email to West Virginia Public Broadcasting. “It is therefore unsurprising that the Jefferson County Commission is keeping a true Mountain Party member from filling the vacancy.”

After 30 days, a party’s county executive committee must then select three nominees for office to be voted upon by the county commission.

But this brought about another issue: The Mountain Party did not have a formal county executive committee in Jefferson County. Plus, Parsons said the party struggled to identify enough eligible candidates.

A question of authority

“Due to the party being a minor party, finding three names who truly represented party values was difficult,” Parsons wrote. “Three names for us is the same as 300 names for the GOP, to put it in perspective.”

Deak Kersey, chief of staff to Secretary of State Mac Warner, said it is unclear whether the Mountain Party’s state committee has the authority to nominate a candidate for office.

“First, there’s a question of: Do they even have the body, the political committee, that can submit the names to the commission?” he said. “We are in that limbo where the authority goes to the county party, [but] there isn’t a county party, so there can’t be a list submitted to the county commission.”

Parsons said his party has formed a local county executive committee headed by Cotgreave, and that his party still wants the commission to appoint him.

But Stolipher said the county commission is still awaiting a list of three names for potential candidates, which is required under state law. Kersey said the commission likely has legal grounds to wait.

“Otherwise, the county parties could just submit one name every time,” he said. “It removes the authority of a county commission to select from the list.”

The general election

Vacancy proceedings are currently at a standstill. Regardless, both Krouse and Jackson’s former seats will be contested, because appointed commissioners must be formally elected to remain in office.

This means, if the Shepherdstown seat is filled, the new commissioner would serve for just a matter of weeks.

Kersey said challenging the commission’s vacancy proceedings would probably require going to court. But this would still likely overlap with the general election, limiting courses of action and making the appointment process less consequential.

“It’s a tricky situation,” Kersey said.

Once the county certifies its election results, the commissioner elected to represent Shepherdstown will take office, which could come as soon as late November, according to Kersey.

In the meantime, the Jefferson County Commission currently has four members in office. Despite the risk of a deadlock on any given vote, there are enough people to meet quorum and conduct business, Stolipher said.

For now, the county government is “completely back to normal,” Stolipher said; just with one less voice.