BUCKHANNON, WV — Former Mayor of Buckhannon David McCauley has filed with leftist activist Laura Folks to run for city council in the upcoming Buckhannon City Election. McCauley and Folks are hoping to add to the city council’s liberal block, which was severely weakened following the 2020 Buckhannon Municipal Election.
Nearly all liberal candidates lost their races, with the exception of the moderate-progressive incumbent Councilman C.J. Rylands, who won his race by only 6 votes.
Former Mayor McCauley was ousted by voters after an article surfaced from a The Washington Post interview, where McCauley openly bragged about deceiving voters.
The Washington Post reported:
McCauley, 58, is a Republican but not a Trumpian. He was a Jeb Bush delegate and ended up voting for Clinton.
[McCauley expressed that he voted for Clinton] “because the last thing we need is two or three more Antonin Scalias” on the Supreme Court.“
Like many here, he doesn’t fit neatly into Clinton’s “basket of deplorables.” He’s pro-abortion rights, pro-gay marriage, he said, “a fervent separation-of-church-and-state guy, a social progressive.”
Then, McCauley expressed that he is registered as a Republican, primarily because Buckhannon has a massive republican electorate.
“You could not move to Buckhannon and settle into a public position without being a Republican. I can do my job better when people say, ‘He’s one of us.’ ”
McCauley appeared to gloat about his ability to convince Republican voters that “He’s one of us,” while holding liberal views that are more in alignment with the Democratic Party. This enraged many voters in Buckhannon, as the city’s Republican electorate comprises the largest political party in the community.
When McCauley expressed, “I can do my job better when people say, ‘He’s one of us.’” The reversal of this remark would be if he were registered as a Democrat, he would be more ineffective at his job, as he would receive greater pushback from Buckhannon’s large republican majority.
In the 2020 municipal election, McCauley was crushed 12.7 points by Robbie Skinner. McCauley only received 42.1 percent, with Skinner capturing 54.8 percent.
According to Mountaineer Journal’s exit poll, 20 percent of McCauley’s voters said they only cast their ballot for him as he was “the lesser of two evils.” McCauley was also only able to capture just 14.3 percent of Republican voters on Election Day.
McCauley has never been a strong candidate. In 2016, he won the mayoral race with only 41.49 percent of the vote, obtaining a total of just 563 votes. He only received 40 more votes than his challenger Michael Cowger, who obtained 523.
In 2020, McCauley lost 23 votes (only receiving 540), resulting in a crushing defeat to Skinner’s 703 votes. Now, McCauley is hoping that his small group of previously captured voters will be enough to place him on Buckhannon City Council.
Confidence in McCauley’s leadership has steadily declined. This is especially true following his inappropriate demeanor when a former liberal city council candidate pulled a gun on an unarmed conservative resident at a local ice cream shop.
McCauley reacted to the criminal brandishing incident with laughter on social media. His inappropriate laughter sent a clear message that he took the serious charges lightly.
The Buckhannon City Charter establishes that the Mayor is in charge of the City Police Department. Not only was it inappropriate for a government official to condone violence, but it was also highly unethical for a sitting Mayor to issue any response of partiality to a criminal investigation within his department, especially favoring the perpetrator.
McCauley has many obstacles in the upcoming election, and voters will have an opportunity to determine whether the ex-Mayor is worthy of holding office following his disgraced reputation.