City of Buckhannon’s election set for May 12, 2020

Katie Kuba
December 20, 2019

BUCKHANNON – Buckhannon City Council on Thursday approved a call for a nonpartisan municipal election, establishing the date of the City of Buckhannon’s General Election as May 12, 2020.

The election falls on the same day as the West Virginia Primary Election.

Every position except two council seats – those occupied by councilwoman Mary Albaugh and councilman J. David Thomas – will be up for grabs. Three four-year term council seats, one four-year mayor and a two-year, unexpired city recorder term will appear on the ballot, mayor David McCauley said Thursday night.

McCauley’s term will expire in 2020, as will those of councilman CJ Rylands, councilman Robbie Skinner, appointed city recorder Randy Sanders and councilwoman Pam Bucklew.

At Thursday’s meeting, McCauley also noted the renewal of a five-year levy for the Charles W. Gibson Library will be determined by the city election.

“This actually involves not only the election of several people to our city council, but it’s also the new five-year levy (renewal) for the Charles W. Gibson Library,” he said.

The two-week filing period for candidates begins Monday, Jan. 13, 2020, and ends Friday, Jan. 24 at 4:30 p.m. Candidates may file for office in person in the city recorder’s office in city hall, 70 E. Main St. or via mail; all mailed filings must be postmarked by midnight Saturday, Jan. 25. Voting precincts will be located at Buckhannon Academy Elementary School, the Upshur County Courthouse and Fred W. Eberle Technical Center.

The last day to withdraw from the municipal election is Feb. 11, and a drawing for position on the ballot is slated for 9 a.m. Tuesday, Feb. 18 in the county clerk’s office in the courthouse.

The Gibson Library levy is used to equip, maintain and operate the library, according to the call for election, and if renewed, the levy goes into effect July 1, 2021.

“If the electorate was to support by majority vote this levy, the period would start on July 1, 2021 and run through June 30, 2026,” McCauley explained. “Because of our election cycle, we’ve got a year to go no matter what happens on this before it actually comes into effect.”

The proposed levy rate is one-and-a-half cents per hundred dollars of assessed valuation on Class I property, three cents per hundred dollars on Class II property and six cents per hundred dollars on Class III property.

Skinner made a motion to approve the call for election, which was seconded by Rylands and approved.

In other city news, council also:

Approved a list of three certified eligible candidates for the position of probationary city firefighter. The list includes Shane Michael Jenkins, Dakota William Shaffer and Marcus James Miller.

Approved Tuesday, Dec. 24, Christmas Eve, as a full-day holiday for city employees in alignment with Gov. Jim Justice’s recent proclamation that Christmas Eve be a full-day holiday for all public employees.