Jefferson County commissioners arrested, out on bond after failure to attend meetings

Jefferson County Commissioners Tricia Jackson and Jennifer Krouse were arrested and arraigned on Tuesday after West Virginia State Police filed criminal complaints on March 8 for their dereliction of duties, which included intentionally skipping about two months worth of meetings. (Getty Images)

Two Jefferson County commissioners — including a candidate for state auditor in the upcoming election — were arrested earlier this week on 42 misdemeanor charges spurring from what the commission president called a “political, illegal strategy” to block the commission from holding a quorum and filling a vacant seat.

Tricia Jackson and Jennifer Krouse, the commissioners in question, were arrested and arraigned on Tuesday after West Virginia State Police filed criminal complaints on March 8 for their dereliction of duties, which included intentionally skipping about two months worth of meetings to keep the body from reaching the quorum necessary to conduct its business. The Jefferson County magistrate issued arrest warrants for the two elected officials that same day, according to documents provided by the court.

On Tuesday, both Jackson and Krouse posted $42,000 bonds, paid for by Weatherholtz Bonding according to court documents, and were released from custody.

In an interview Wednesday, Jefferson County Commission President Steve Stolipher — echoing the narrative provided by police in the criminal complaints — said there was “no question” that the actions of Krouse and Jackson were politically motivated.

“They didn’t want to appoint a commissioner to the empty seat, but we had to by law. They wanted to wait until the next election for a commissioner to be elected, and that’s illegal. [State code] doesn’t say you can wait until the next election if you feel bad about the people who could be appointed to fill the seat,” Stolipher said. “What they did was a political, illegal strategy, and it broke the law.”

Krouse, in an email sent at 3:58 p.m., said she would “ very much like the opportunity to speak” about the situation and charges pending against her, but was working to retain legal counsel. She referred questions to a Martinsburg law firm.

Jackson, who is running as a Republican for West Virginia State Auditor, referred questions to that same law firm in a 6:45 p.m. email.

When contacted at 4 p.m. Wednesday, a representative with that law firm said that while reporters had been calling and asking for comment, the law firm has not been retained as counsel for either Krouse or Jackson and as such could not comment on either of their cases.

Krouse did not respond to further emails seeking comment.

The 42 misdemeanor charges filed against Krouse and Jackson include charges related to conspiracy for their coordination to keep the commission from meeting quorum, failure to perform their official duties and failure to fill the vacant county commission seat, among other charges.

According to the criminal complaints, Krouse and Jackson missed every commission meeting scheduled in the county from Sept. 19 to Nov. 16, 2023. The first missed meeting came as the county commission was scheduled — on Sept. 21 — to appoint someone from a list provided by the Jefferson County Republican Executive Committee to fill a seat vacated earlier that summer.

From that meeting until November, both commissioners “willfully and intentionally missed seven straight commission meetings with the express purpose of denying a quorum and preventing the appointment of a fifth commissioner,” according to the complaints.

Only after a local business filed cause in November and a judge ordered the commissioners to fulfill their elected duty and attend the meetings was that vacancy filled .

In the months before that, however, Stolipher said dozens of other commission duties went unattended because of the failure to reach a quorum. On the day of each scheduled meeting, Stolipher and County Commission Vice President Jane Tabb would meet, recite the Pledge of Allegiance, fail to meet a quorum and adjourn their meetings.

Per the criminal complaint — which lists at least 18 specific examples — the lack of a quorum over this time meant the commission was unable to fill vacant positions, pay bills, approve contracts and approve or apply for grants, among other things.

“There are some things that we weren’t able to act on in that time that we’ll never be able to really measure the cost of. That’s how much was lost over this time,” Stolipher said. “So yeah, some of what we lost, it’s immeasurable.”

He includes in that the loss of at least three “very large businesses” that were looking at locating in Jefferson County, but have since pulled out of talks to do so.

“Businesses don’t want to locate in a county that has this political turmoil going on,” Stolipher said. “These were companies that were going to bring maybe hundreds of high paying, hightech jobs and they’re no longer interested in us. We lost that.”

A fifth-generation farmer living on his family’s land, Stolipher said he ran for office to improve his home county and serve the people who live there. He’s frustrated to see the negative impact of Jackson and Krouse’s actions take over the potential for good development and good news in the state.

“If you’re going to get elected, run for office, well at least do the job. If not, step down and let somebody else do it,” Stolipher said. “I would much rather be talking to you right now about a new company coming to Jefferson County and creating a few hundred new jobs instead of dealing with this unnecessary drama. They were elected for a job and chose not to show up. That’s the least you can do: show up.”

A civil hearing is scheduled later this month regarding removing Krouse and Jackson from office, Stolipher said.

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