Beckley Common Council members say city manager controversy influenced recent election
BECKLEY, WV (WVNS) — On Tuesday, two members of Beckley Common Council lost bids for their Council seats, with voters replacing incumbent Tom Sopher in Ward One and Bob Canter in Ward Two.
Two members of Beckley Common Council who cast opposing votes last year on whether or not to change the city’s form of government said on Friday, May 17, 2024 that they believe recent controversy over the city manager issue swayed election results.
At-Large Councilman Cody Reedy voted against hiring a city manager, arguing for the issue to be placed on a popular ballot.
“If you look at it, three of the four members who were running as incumbents lost this election, and I think the citizens spoke and voted these three members out because they went against their voice,” Councilman Reedy said on Friday. “The people wanted it on the ballot.”
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Ward Three Councilman Robert Dunlap was one of the four council members who voted in favor of hiring a city manager, saying it was something most modern cities had already done.
In January, West Virginia Miners Baseball Team owner Doug Epling filed a lawsuit asking a judge to block the Council decision and to let voters decide the city manager issue, arguing that Council had violated the city charter by reducing the mayor’s duties.
Days after the election, Raleigh County Circuit Court Judge Andrew Dimlich dismissed Eplings’s lawsuit, but Dunlap, who came in second in the mayor’s race on Tuesday, said the lawsuit had already influenced the election.
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“Frankly, the timing of it allowed this narrative that council should be completely replaced because we took away the voice from the people, and that’s an embarrassment, but it caused the exact thing that was intended to be caused,” said Dunlap on Friday. “It cast a shadow on a quality group of individuals, right before an election.”
Dunlap, an attorney, said the lawsuit was without merit and applauded the ruling. Epling was not immediately available for comment on Friday. In a social media post, however, he said he planned to appeal the Raleigh County ruling.
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