BUCKHANNON — On June 30ᵗʰ, LGBT activists placed rainbow pride flags around Buckhannon City Hall. This controversial placement occurred the day before the inauguration of the newly elected Buckhannon city council members and mayor.
Sources tell Mountaineer Journal that Mayor David McCauley allegedly granted permission for LGBT Pride flags to be placed around City Hall, as his last official act as Mayor. This decision was made without approval from the current Buckhannon City Council.
The 200 pride flags were reportedly purchased by unsuccessful Buckhannon City Council candidate Matthew Kerner (D). According to Kerner, the flags were delivered on June 15ᵗʰ from Amazon.
Kerner recently made controversy last month, after he was caught illegally possessing a firearm due to two felonies in California and brandishing a weapon on Main Street. Additionally, documents surfaced where Kerner had used funds from the Opportunity House, Inc. to purchase campaign material for his 2018 House of Delegates campaign. The misappropriations are still under investigation.
Many Buckhannon residents feel that this was extremely inappropriate, as it creates the appearance of spiting the new mayoral administration and newly elected city council.