Under West Virginia Code § 6-6-7, a county official can be removed from office by a three-judge panel convened in the local Circuit Court. To initiate this process as citizens, the law mandates strict procedural frameworks, statutory grounds, and an explicit warning layout on every signature page.
Because Pocahontas County has a population of fewer than 10,000 residents, the statutory signature threshold under WV Code § 6-6-7(b)(1)(C)(iii) is the lesser of 100 qualified petitioners or 10% of the total registered voters who cast ballots in the election where the challenged commissioner was chosen.
Below is a formal draft of the petition formatted to meet West Virginia’s statutory requirements, incorporating the legal theories of malfeasance and incompetence surrounding the landfill contract expansion.
IN THE CIRCUIT COURT OF POCAHONTAS COUNTY, WEST VIRGINIA
IN RE: PETITION FOR THE REMOVAL OF [NAME OF COMMISSIONER], COUNTY COMMISSIONER FOR POCAHONTAS COUNTY, WEST VIRGINIA
CASE NO. ___________
PETITION FOR REMOVAL FROM PUBLIC OFFICE
To the Honorable Judges of the Circuit Court of Pocahontas County, West Virginia:
The undersigned, being qualified registered voter petitioners residing within Pocahontas County, West Virginia, respectfully proffer this Petition pursuant to West Virginia Code § 6-6-7, and move this Court to remove [Name of Commissioner] from the office of County Commissioner for Pocahontas County due to explicit acts of Malfeasance and Incompetence in office, as set forth below.
I. STATUTORY GROUNDS & STANDARD OF REVIEW
West Virginia Code § 6-6-7 provides that any elective county officer may be removed from office for official misconduct, malfeasance in office, incompetence, neglect of duty, or gross immorality.
Under West Virginia jurisprudence, Malfeasance is defined as the doing of an act which is positively unlawful or wrongful, which the officer has no right to perform (State ex rel. Sonner v. Shearin).
Incompetence under West Virginia law denotes a lack of fitness, legal capability, or adequate qualification to discharge the mandatory public duties of the office.
II. STATUTORY CHARGES AND SPECIFIC WRONGFUL ACTS
CHARGE I: MALFEASANCE IN OFFICE
(Ultra Vires Attempt to Waive Sovereign Police and Eminent Domain Powers)
On or about [Date of original contract/negotiation], the Respondent, acting in their official capacity as a Pocahontas County Commissioner, engaged in real estate acquisition negotiations for the Pocahontas County Landfill property.
During said negotiations, Respondent explicitly executed or caused to be executed a contractual provision or deed covenant purporting to permanently waive, surrender, and "negotiate away" the County Commission’s statutory power of eminent domain regarding adjacent lands.
Under the constitutional Reserved Powers Doctrine long established in West Virginia law, the power of eminent domain is an inalienable attribute of sovereignty delegated by the Legislature under WV Code § 54-1-1. A political subdivision possesses absolutely no legal capacity to contractually bargain away or limit its future exercise of eminent domain or police powers.
By intentionally executing a contract clause that attempted to strip a future County Commission of its fundamental sovereign obligations, Respondent committed a positive, unlawful, and wrongful act ultra vires (beyond their lawful authority), constituting Malfeasance in Office.
CHARGE II: INCOMPETENCE IN OFFICE
(Waste of Public Assets and Creation of Void, Unenforceable Liabilities)
Respondent demonstrated a gross lack of legal fitness and fundamental competence required to handle public acquisitions by allocating public county funds toward a property transaction based on an inherently void and legally toothless promise.
Respondent's failure to recognize or adhere to the elementary constraints of municipal power has placed Pocahontas County in direct legal and financial jeopardy. By attempting to exercise eminent domain over the adjacent parcels in violation of the prior invalid agreement, the county now faces severe civil exposure, potential breach of contract claims, and heightened "just compensation" residue damages under West Virginia Constitution Article III, Section 9.
Respondent’s inability to properly execute basic public contracts within statutory boundaries constitutes Incompetence in Office under WV Code § 6-6-7.
III. PRAYER FOR RELIEF
WHEREFORE, your Petitioners respectfully pray that:
This Petition be accepted as meeting the statutory criteria of West Virginia Code § 6-6-7;
This Court forward a copy of the charges to the Supreme Court of Appeals of West Virginia for the immediate designation of a three-judge court to hear this matter;
Upon due notice and hearing, the Respondent be found to have committed malfeasance and incompetence; and
An Order be entered immediately removing Respondent from the office of County Commissioner of Pocahontas County, declaring said office vacant.
Respectfully submitted this ______ day of ______________, 2026.
INFORMED ACKNOWLEDGEMENT OF PETITIONERS
(Every page of signatures must contain this statement or have the charges attached)
NOTICE TO SIGNERS: By signing this document, you are formally petitioning the Circuit Court of Pocahontas County for the removal of [Name of Commissioner] from the office of Pocahontas County Commissioner on the grounds of Malfeasance and Incompetence stemming from unauthorized, void land acquisition contracts and negotiations relating to the county landfill property. Your signature certifies that you are a registered voter living within Pocahontas County, West Virginia.
| Signature | Printed Name | Residence Address | Date Signed |
| 1. | |||
| 2. | |||
| 3. |
STATUTORY VERIFICATION OATH
(To be executed by at least one of the primary petition signers before a Notary Public)
STATE OF WEST VIRGINIA
COUNTY OF POCAHONTAS, TO-WIT:
I, _______________________________, being first duly sworn, upon my oath state that I am a qualified Petitioner and registered voter in Pocahontas County, West Virginia; that I have read the foregoing Petition and know the contents thereof; and that the facts, allegations, and charges stated therein are true to the best of my knowledge, information, and belief.
_______________________________________
Primary Petitioner / Affiant
Taken, subscribed, and sworn to before me this ______ day of ______________, 2026.
My commission expires: ________________________
_______________________________________
Notary Public
Procedural Note for Filing
Once the required number of signatures is collected, the original petition must be filed directly with the Pocahontas County Circuit Clerk's Office at the courthouse in Marlinton. The filing petitioner accepts the responsibility to formally prosecute the action before the three-judge panel.
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