Following the removal of Tricia Jackson and Jennifer Krouse on May 1, the Jefferson County Commission will operate with only 3 commissioners (above, Pasha Majdi, Steve Stolipher, Jane Tabb).
“Every political party has fissures,” noted Steve Roberts, chair of the Jefferson County Republican Executive Committee (JCREC) when I spoke with him on April 30 about the recent back and forth among Republican party members on social media. But he indicated that in his party the “demagoguery of politics is getting more extreme, with people using ideology as cover to discredit others and coalitions willing to do anything in the name of success.” He also questioned what success means, when the intent is to “not get anything done.”
My conversation with Roberts was a follow-up to questions posed about County Commissioner Jennifer Krouse switching her voter registration from the Republican party to the Mountain party in late April. In response to Krouse’s action, Roberts issued a statement on behalf of the JCREC which calls Krouse a “communist” and her action a “power grab” encouraged by a “small group of radical social media hounds.” Roberts said the statement wording was his and it reflected the consensus of the committee members, but at least one member of the JCREC posted on social media to object strenuously to Roberts’ statement.
The West Virginia Mountain Party’s platform would suggest that it’s an odd fit for a self-described conservative — with detailed sections supporting “reproductive rights,” “equality for persons of all sexual genders,” and support for a “green new deal.” It’s also a small party. The WV Secretary of State reports that of 1,127,769 registered voters statewide at the end of 2023, there were only 2,470 registered with the Mountain Party, and only 145 registered in Jefferson County.
The special judicial panel appointed by the WV Supreme Court issued a ruling on May 1 finding the “allegations of the Removal Petition of either official misconduct and/or neglect of duty have been proven by clear and convincing evidence” and ordered Krouse (along with Tricia Jackson) to be removed immediately from the County Commission. Krouse’s party switch will complicate the task of filling the vacancy, as any person selected to fill the seat vacated by Krouse would need to be registered with the Mountain Party (per WV Code 3-10-7) — and it’s unlikely that the remaining commissioners would find the politics of any of those individuals acceptable.
By Steve Pearson