Two Jefferson County commissioners who “conspired” to prevent the appointment of another county commissioner by refusing to attend meetings and withholding quorums over a two-month period were removed from office Wednesday, according to a court order dismissed.
The order, issued by a three-judge panel, ruled that Jefferson County Commissioners Jennifer Krouse and Tricia Jackson, who currently serve running As a Republican for comptroller, all assets from her term must be immediately transferred to another county commission member.
Krouse and Jackson were arrested in March on the 42nd Misdemeanor fees each including one count of conspiracy to co-ordinate to deter the commission from reaching quorum, failure to perform official duties, and failure to fill the vacant county commission seat, as well as other charges.
The women intentionally missed every Jefferson County Commission meeting between Sept. 19 and Nov. 16 to protest what they called the process for filling a vacant commission seat. During this time, they continued to collect their paychecks for their service on the commission, totaling nearly $8,800 in tax dollars each.
In social media posts from that time that were included as evidence in the order, Krouse said that missing the meetings was a deliberate tactic to prevent the commission from filling its vacant seat with a candidate who was not ” “real conservative”.
“I had hoped that three Republican commissioners would have no difficulty agreeing on a conservative candidate to fill the vacancy. When that didn’t happen, I expected the Republican Executive Committee to select three true conservatives for consideration by the Commission,” Krouse wrote on Facebook on August 17, the last meeting she attended before starting the “Protest ” started. “Unfortunately, far too many of West Virginia’s elected ‘Republicans’ appear to be either incompetent, self-serving, closeted liberals, or some combination thereof.”
According to the removal order, Krouse and Jackson continued to post on Facebook while skipping biweekly county commission meetings, reiterating their intent to prevent the body from reaching a quorum and appointing a replacement for the vacant seat, even though they were doing so were requested in the country code.
Without reaching a quorum during that time, the commission was unable to carry out its codified duties to maintain county operations, the order says, endangering public safety and leaving taxpayers thousands of dollars in lawsuits, fees and missed charges Funding opportunities cost.
During the time they missed their meetings, key county positions remained unfilled and bills lapsed, as did key contracts to keep the 911 center operational and able to respond to emergencies. According to the order, all of these and other incidents were a direct result of Jackson and Krouse intentionally missing meetings.
In the order, Judge Joseph K. Reeder of the 29th Judicial District; Jason A. Wharton of the 4th Judicial District and Perri Jo DeChristopher of the 17th Judicial District ruled that Krouse and Jackson had failed to fulfill the duties they swore to fulfill when they took office.
Your personal beliefs, the judges wrote, must not interfere with these duties.
“[Krouse and Jackson] have no right to protest against the violation of their duties because their duties are absolute. Their personal differences must yield to their duty as elected officials,” the order reads. “[Krouse and Jackson] have no right to use their office and their official actions for personal protest.”
In March, Steve Stolipher, president of the Jefferson County Commission, said he had no doubt that the motive for the women’s actions was “political.”
“What they did was a political, illegal strategy and it was against the law,” he told West Virginia Watch after their arrest.
According to the order, the justices wrote that the missed meetings were more than just a “casual disregard” of their office and duties, but rather a “knowing refusal” to comply and a “weapon” of their ability to maintain quorum refuse and block district business.
Krouse and Jackson began placing conditions on their attendance during the two months they missed the meetings, the order says. They said they would only attend meetings if filling the vacancy was not on the agenda and if Stolipher later agreed to step down as commission president.
On Nov. 30, Jackson and Krouse finally returned to the county commission after a judge ordered their attendance. At that meeting — and “ironically,” as the order states — the vacancy on the commission became available was filled.
“This refusal to meet before this has been ordered removes any doubt [Jackson and Krouse’s] “Actions constitute a willful and willful disregard for the law,” the deportation order states. “…The court therefore finds [Krouse and Jackson] … prioritized their own concerns over the needs of the citizens of Jefferson County and used their conscious and willful refusal to attend meetings and appoint a fifth commissioner to accomplish this [them] to further their own agenda.”
