Business owner elected as Beckley mayor
Beckley native and local business owner Ryan Neal will be the city of Beckley’s next mayor.
A newcomer to politics, Neal said he hopes to be a mayor who can help the city improve.
“I felt like we needed somebody who is business-minded like I am,” he said. “Somebody that loves our community, somebody that’s lived here, somebody that wants to see our city improve.”
Running against four candidates, Neal received more than 40 percent of the votes, beating his opponents by more than 500 votes, according to unofficial results from the Raleigh County Clerk’s Office for the May 14 primary election.
When asked whether he was surprised to have won by such a margin, Neal said he was “cautiously optimistic” that the votes would go his way.
“I worked hard,” he said. “I probably had more signs out than probably all the other candidates combined.”
Neal won with 1,485 votes. Coming in second for the Beckley mayor race was Beckley Common Council member Robert Dunlap, who received 946 votes.
The remaining candidates were Marvin Robinson, 700 votes; Michael Smith, 87 votes; and Matt Lahn, 86 votes.
Neal, who has owned and operated the Beef Jerky Outlet stores, including the one on Harper Road, for the past 10 years, said he chose to run after learning that Beckey Mayor Rob Rappold would not be seeking reelection. Rappold has served as Beckley’s mayor since 2016.
Despite Tuesday’s votes, the responsibilities Neal will take on as Beckley’s next mayor are still up in the air thanks to a pending lawsuit in Raleigh County Circuit Court over the Beckley city manager ordinance, which was passed in January.
The ordinance transitions Beckley from a strong mayor government to a city manager government.
Under the new form of government, the mayor’s powers as city administrator are transferred to the city manager.
Instead, the mayor’s main responsibility is to serve as the presiding officer during council meetings, ensuring that order is kept and that rules are followed.
The city is facing a lawsuit over the city manager ordinance filed by local business owner Doug Epling. The lawsuit claims Beckley’s city manager ordinance violates state code by taking powers away from the mayor without first putting it to a vote in a municipal election.
Attorneys for the city of Beckley and Epling argued their case in mid-April in front of Raleigh County Circuit Judge Andrew Dimlich.
Dimlich is expected to issue a written ruling but had yet to do so as of Monday.
Regardless of what the judge decides, Neal said he’s ready to take on the position of Beckley’s mayor in whatever form it takes.
“The city manager, if we go to that, I’ll support him 100 percent,” he said. “What I would do is be the voice of the people. I’ll talk to the people. I’ll find out what’s important to them. I’ll pass that message on along to city council and to the city manager, and I’ll hold their feet to the fire to make sure those things are getting done.”
Neal will take office as Beckley mayor on July 1.
