CHARLESTON, W.Va. (AP) — The West Virginia Supreme Court has Decision of the lower court to remove from office two district commissioners who refused to attend the meetings.
The state Supreme Court of Appeals, in a summary released Wednesday, affirmed a panel of three district judges’ decision in May to strip Jennifer Krouse and Tricia Jackson of their titles as Jefferson County county commissioners.
The judges did not explain their reasoning, but announced a more detailed statement.
District Judges Joseph K. Reeder of Putnam County, Jason A. Wharton of Wirt and Wood Counties and Perri Jo DeChristopher of Monongalia County ruled that Krouse and Jackson “exhibited a pattern of conduct amounting to a conscious, willful and deliberate refusal to perform their duties.”
Krouse and Jackson – also the Republican candidate for State Auditorbut lost in the primary — were arrested in March and charged in Jefferson County District Court with 42 misdemeanors ranging from failure to perform official duties to conspiracy to commit a crime against the state. The motion to remove the two women from office was filed by the Jefferson County District Attorney’s Office in November, and the three-judge panel heard the case in tardy March.
The matter resulted from seven missed meetings in tardy 2023, which State Police claimed in court documents related to the criminal case that Krouse and Jackson left to protest candidates chosen to replace a resigning commissioner. According to a criminal complaint, they believed the candidates were not “true conservatives,” among other complaints.
The lawsuit alleged that because of Krouse and Jackson’s absences between September 21 and November 16, 2023, the commission was unable to conduct its regular business, including filling 911 dispatch positions and approving a $150,000 grant for victim advocates in the district attorney’s office and a $50,000 grant for courthouse renovations.
The county did not receive a grant to upgrade the courthouse because the commission must approve expenditures over $5,000.
Despite the missed meetings, Jackson and Krouse continued to receive benefits and pay. They returned after an order from the Jefferson County District Court.
Krouse took office in January 2023, Jackson in 2021.
