Logan County candidates file on day one of filing period for 2026 Primary Election
- WVOW News
- 2 hours ago
- 5 min read
Updated: 2 minutes ago
Robert Fields | WVOW News
LOGAN Political candidate filing for West Virginia opened on Monday.
One local race for political office that will see some competition is that for the Logan County Commission. Incumbent Commissioner Diana Barnette previously confirmed her intention to file for reelection and filed on Monday morning. She is still in her first term as a commissioner and served for two years as the commission president until nominating Commissioner Billy Jack Dickerson for the role during the commission's January 5th meeting.
In an interview with WVOW News, Barnette commented on the fiscal aspect of running a county and said the commission has been able to do a lot more with a lot less.
"I think the County Commission has made some great accomplishments in our budget. I think that our income has decreased and we've been able to work on our budget and cut out some excessive spending," she said.
She said she's learned a lot during her time as a commissioner and said fiscal responsibility is something she would like to continue focusing on if elected to a second term.
"We would like to move forward and put back some of our rainy-day fund, so we're really working hard on that kind of stuff. These are things that you don't really see day to day. They're not fancy, they're not glittery, but it's the nuts and bolts of the commission. I had no idea how many things they were responsible for," she said.
Barnette's tenure as a Logan County Commissioner has been underscored by a number of high-impact decisions. She was the only "no" vote in 2021 when the commission undertook the question of redrawing the county's magisterial maps to include four districts instead of the former three-district map that the county had operated under since 1993. Also in 2021, she spearheaded discussions to address the county's litter problem with her "Let's Talk Trash" forum and was on the commission when it launched its dilapidated structures project, an initiative which has carried over into her time as commission president and has seen well over a hundred dilapidated properties cleared using over $1.5 million in WVDEP grant funding. Barnette praised the progress made under the Dilapidated Structures Project and said it was a combined effort on the part of several county employees.
"The Dilapidated Housing Project has been a huge success, and that has taken a lot of time from a lot of people. It was a project that was hand in hand with the West Virginia DEP. The money came through them, but the hoops we had to jump through and the paperwork we had to do and all of the asbestos testing and all of the pre-bids and all of those things was a lot of work. It required a lot of time from, not just one person; it took about seven of us, and every day we talked about that. That project has been a huge success," she said.
Moreover, it was during her time as president that the commission was approached with a multimillion-dollar offer by West Virginia American Water to buy out the county's water utility systems, an offer which was unanimously rejected by the commission.
"There may be a time when we need to revisit that, but not now. We're doing well. We've been able to successfully merge those two PSDs, and I think it's working out for the best for everybody," she said.
"Now, we all know that prices have risen astronomically for materials, labor, insurance, all of these things have risen. So, in order for us to be competitive and keep the employees that we have at our PSDs and be able to buy the materials necessary for the upgrades we need to keep, we're going to have to raise the rates. But it's not going to be as bad as having American Water in and them raising their rates. I think we have better control over what happens to us staying where we are right now."
Barnette's opponent is Deborah Mendez, who submitted a letter on January 8th resigning from her long-held position as a member on the Logan County Board of Education ahead of the candidate filing period. Mendez served for over a decade on the board and has expressed an interest in running for the commission numerous times in the past. She told WVOW News that she knows roughly what she would like to see for Logan County as a member of the County Commission. Her early platform will revolve around attracting growth to the county and building confidence in the community.
"Our population is dropping and that's as far as schools and general population, and I'd like to see something to be done for the youth. People stay here because they were born and raised here. There's people with good retirements here and I'd like to see something done for the elderly to be more active, to stay in the county," she said.
She said she's aware that a new office would come with a new learning curve but said she feels it was time to take on the challenge.
"I think you'd have to get in there and learn a lot of what's going on. It's just the same with the Board of Education. When I first came on, I asked a lot of questions, so I know that I'd have to learn how to do this. It's not something that you're going to be able to walk in and do right of the bat. But just start out with something simple, like if somebody says, 'where does x-amount of money go,' I would like to be able to show them," Mendez said.
Meanwhile, one Logan County office had its first official candidate clarify his intention to run well ahead of the filing period.
Burley Ferrell filed pre-candidacy paperwork with the Logan County Clerk’s Office in September to seek election as Logan County Magistrate. Ferrell was appointed to the position in December 2024 by Logan Circuit Court Chief Judge Joshua Butcher after Dwight Williamson retired before taking the oath of office, despite winning re-election in 2024.
Ferrell brings 23 years of law enforcement experience to the role. He began his career with the Boone County Sheriff’s Office before returning to Logan County, where he later spent thirteen years with the 119 Drug Task Force.
Ferrell said serving as a magistrate since his appointment confirmed his decision to run, citing his long-standing interest in public service and working directly with the community.
“I absolutely love it. I just love being part of the community and serving the people of Logan County. I've always enjoyed that, which is why I wanted to come back to Logan County and continue this line of work. So yeah, I just enjoy this part of it. It's all I know really,” he said.
If elected this year, Ferrell would be required to win reelection again in 2028 to secure a full four-year term.
In other races filed for so far in Logan County, Britta "Brit" Aguirre has filed as a Democrat in District 1 to serve in the U.S. House of Representatives and Margitta Mazzocchi has filed for reelection as a Republican in District 31 of the state House of Delegates. Both candidates are also running for the state Executive Committee of their respective parties.
WVOW's A.M. Stone and Shana Nelson contributed to this story.
PHOTO | A.M. Stone - edited by Shana Nelson