There were 46,016 registered voters eligible to vote in Jefferson County according to the report provided by Nikki Painter, the Chief Deputy Clerk of Jefferson County, following the official election canvass completed on November 12 and 13. Painter’s report shows that 29,447 ballots were cast in Jefferson County during the recent election (including election day, early voting, and absentee ballots). That number represents a turnout of 63.99% of Jefferson County’s registered voters, which is slightly lower than the 64.78% turnout rate for the 2020 election.
State Legislature Results
In the West Virginia State Senate, Republican Patricia Rucker will continue to represent Jefferson County. In the House of Delegates, Jefferson County will be represented by four Republican delegates: incumbents Bill Ridenour and Wayne Clark and newcomers Joe Funkhouser and Chris Anders. The final vote splits were:
Senate: Rucker 60% – John Doyle 40%
Delegate 100: Ridenour 53% – Maria Russo 47%
Delegate 99: Wayne Clark 58% – Osmund Anderson 42%
Delegate 98: Joe Funkhouser 66% – Troy Miller 34%
Delegate 97: Chris Anders 54% – Lucia Valentine 46%
District 97 includes parts of both Berkeley and Jefferson Counties. In the Jefferson County precincts, Valentine outpolled Anders with 54% of the votes, but received only 41% of the vote in the Berkeley County precincts.
Jefferson County Commission Results
There were four seats on the ballot for the Jefferson County Commission. The four newly elected commissioners will join sitting commissioner Steve Stolipher (Kabletown seat) for an all-Republican County Commission. The County Commission vote splits were:
Middleway: Mike Mood 55% – Natalie Grantham Friend 45%
Charles Town: Jack Hefestay 50% – James Walch 40%, David Tabb 10%
Harpers Ferry: Pasha Majdi 54% – Lanae Johnson 46%
Shepherdstown: Cara Keys 57% – Carrie Blessing 43%
Hefestay, Majdi, and Keys are all filling seats that became vacant in the past 18 months, so they assumed office immediately after the County Commission certified the results on November 19. Hefestay will serve the remaining four years of the Charles Town seat term; Majdi, who was previously serving as an appointed commissioner to fill the Charles Town seat vacated by Clare Ath, will serve the remaining two years of the Harpers Ferry seat term. Keys will serve the remaining four years of the Shepherdstown seat term. Mood will take office in early January 2025 when Commissioner Jane Tabb retires at the end of her term.
Full Agendas For New Jefferson County Commissioners
In December, the Jefferson County Commission will begin discussion of the Comprehensive Plan that was recently drafted by the Planning Commission, with a public hearing on December 4 followed by deliberations and possible revisions to be voted on in early January. Two of the new commissioners, Hefestay and Keys, had been serving on the Planning Commission, so the County Commission will need to appoint two new members to fill those vacant seats (residents can call the County Commission office at 304-728-3284 for information on how to apply).
Next year, the planned acquisition of a new county headquarters building (see page 5) will require a lot of attention from the commissioners during the spring. Discussions for the fiscal year 2025-2026 budget will also begin in December and continue into the spring, with the expectation that inflation and local population growth will significantly affect both the revenue and expense sides of the budget.
By Steve Pearson