Election will be in November

BY KYLE LOVERN
MOUNTAIN CITIZEN

WILLIAMSON, W.Va. — The City of Williamson will hold its election for the mayor and four council seats during the General Election on Tuesday, Nov. 5.

Incumbent Mayor Charlie Hatfield is running for reelection. He is being challenged by West Williamson Council member Mike Casey and businessman Joe Lycan. Casey is a retired fireman for the city and also a former police officer. Casey is currently serving as councilman for Ward 4.

In Ward 4, Dewey Dingess, a former supervisor for the city’s street department, is running for councilman. In Ward 3, which serves part of downtown Williamson and west of Harvey Street, incumbent Ralphie Hall is running and is being challenged by Helen Stanley.

In Ward 2, which includes part of town east of Harvey Street and Vinson Street, incumbent Stuart Hight is running for reelection. Sherri Hairston-Brown, a former council member, is challenging him.

In the East Williamson, Ward 1, Joseph Bucci, the incumbent, is running unopposed.

The municipal primary election was initially scheduled for April 2025, and the general election was initially set for June 2025, with candidate filings not required until 2025. However, the election will now be nonpartisan and conducted during the county’s general election on Tuesday, Nov. 5, 2024.

Hatfield and the four current sitting councilmen agreed to vacate their positions six months earlier to allow newly elected individuals to assume their offices on Jan. 1, 2025, instead of July 1, 2025.

The county will charge the city a $5,000 fee for the ballot space and legal advertising. City administrators say even with the fee, the City of Williamson will save thousands of dollars by not having to conduct its own full election. This would include hiring poll workers, printing paper ballots, legal advertising and creating poll books.

The Mingo County Commission approved a request by the City of Williamson, which could serve as a precedent countywide for the other municipalities in Mingo County. Candidates running for the City of Williamson mayoral and council seats are:

Mayor:

• Charles Hatfield (incumbent);

• Joe M. Lycan; and

• Mike Casey (current councilman, Ward 4).

City Council:

• Ward 1: Joseph Bucci (incumbent);

• Ward 2: Sherri Hairston Brown and Stuart Hight (incumbent);

• Ward 3: Ralph Hall (incumbent), Helen Ann Stanley and Kenneth “Cooter” May; and

• Ward 4: Dewey Dingess.