BECKLEY, WV (WOAY) – The Raleigh County Courthouse buzzed with life as election officials and poll workers pulled together the election results.
The county had several positions up for election, but Beckley in particular had a few races to keep an eye on.
“The reality is you don’t put yourself through this torture if you don’t care about the city,” said mayoral candidate Danielle Stewart. “We may have different visions and different ways to get there, but there is not a single candidate that doesn’t care about Beckley and wants to do what they think is best for it.”
Stewart was one of five to challenge incumbent Rob Rappold for his seat in the mayor’s office. Had she won, Stewart would have been the city’s first transgender mayor.
Among the winners on Tuesday is Robert Dunlap, a local lawyer representing Ward 3 on City Council after winning by a single vote.
“I think the city is ready for change and we want to see things different in uptown Beckley,” said Dunlap.
Meanwhile, Beckley native Cody Reedy secured a seat at the table as council at large. He shares the title with Sherry Hunter just months after graduating from WVU Tech.
“I felt like Beckley needed a fresh voice and I felt like a young voice coming in that sees things that I wanted as a child or see as an adult, as a college student, and want it brought to the city,” said Reedy. “I want to cut the current spending and invest it into the community, the infrastructure, the community events to bring to the children and working with the youth.”
County-wide races had surprising results as well. After stepping down from the position, Steven Massie has the majority vote for Division 2 Magistrate, meaning a judge must appoint someone to the position.
Ron Hedrick will leave the County Commission after opponent Greg Duckworth wins the seat.
