Public Trust Break! West Virginia Commissioners Removed For Skipping Meetings And Arrests

DEBARYLIFE – Two county commissioners in the Eastern Panhandle of West Virginia were detained more than a month ago for willfully neglecting their official responsibilities by missing public meetings. On Wednesday, a three-judge panel issued an order removing them from office.

In a written decision, Circuit Court Judges Joseph K. Reeder of Putnam County, Jason A. Wharton of Wirt and Wood Counties, and Perri Jo DeChristopher of Monongalia County found that Jennifer Krouse and Tricia Jackson, the commissioners for Jefferson County, “engaged in a pattern of conducted that amounted to the deliberate, willful and intentional refusal to perform their duties.”

Republican state auditor candidate Jackson and Krouse were detained in March and charged with 42 misdemeanors, ranging from conspiracy to commit a crime against the state to neglect of official responsibilities, in Jefferson County Magistrate Court. Jackson is also a candidate for state auditor.

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The prosecutor’s office for Jefferson County filed the petition to remove the two women from office in November, and the case was considered by a three-judge panel in late March.

Jackson announced her intention to appeal the ruling and her continued candidacy for state auditor in a public Facebook post. She is collaborating with an attorney to do so.

“An election has been overturned and the will of the people has been subverted,” said Jackson. “I have no intention of surrendering and plan to challenge this unjust decision every step of the way.”

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This issue arose from seven meetings that State Police claimed in criminal case court filings that Krouse and Jackson skipped to criticize candidates chosen to succeed a resigning commissioner. Based on a criminal charge, they felt that the candidates were not “actual conservatives,” among other things.

In the complaint, it was claimed that between September 21 and November 16, 2023, Krouse and Jackson’s absences kept the commission from meeting regularly, which made it impossible for it to approve a $150,000 grant for victim advocates in the prosecuting attorney’s office, fill 911 dispatch positions, or approve a $50,000 grant for courthouse renovations.

The courthouse improvement grant was not awarded to the county because expenditures exceeding $5,000 require commission approval.

Despite missing meetings, Jackson and Krouse both kept their benefits and salaries. A Jefferson County Circuit Court order caused them to start coming back.

In January 2023, Krouse entered office, whereas Jackson did so in 2021.