BECKLEY, WV (LOOTPRESS) – Republican Brianne Steele officially filed yesterday to run in the Primary for the position of Raleigh County Circuit Clerk.
The Clerk’s position has been vacant since the resignation of Bob McComas, who was elected to the position in the November 2022 election.
Steele is a resident of Beckley, having graduated from Woodrow Wilson High School in 2004. She attended Marshall University and graduated with a bachelor’s degree in Psychology with minors in Sociology and Anthropology.
While she has experience with work in the Mental Health field, she has worked with her husband, Beckley attorney Brandon Steele, in his law practice, and is also the Chief Operating Officer of Lootpress. She resides in Beckley with her husband Brandon and three children.
“I have chosen to raise my family in the place I was raised, and instill in them the same values we were raised with: Faith, Family, and Freedom. As I have worked with my husband for the last ten years, I have seen firsthand the importance of our court system. It is paramount that our courthouse be administrated in an efficient and fair manner. I have the skills and experience necessary to see that happens for the benefit of the people of Raleigh County.”
When asked about the administration of the office Steele said, “I have signed the front and back of paychecks, I have administered a budget in private business, and I am a proven job creator. I know how hard it is on our local business owners to operate under the current inflationary environment. It is my goal to see to it that the office is run efficiently and the Clerk’s office is being a good steward of our citizens’ tax dollars.”
So far, only two people have filed for the position of Circuit Clerk, both on the Republican Primary ballot: Brianne Steele and James Paul Chapman. Chapman, pictured below, was an appointed employee in 2011 of the former Circuit Clerk, Democrat Paul Flanagan. Flanagan also served at the same time as the chair of the Raleigh County Democrat party. Though Chapman has filed as a Republican, records in the County Clerk’s office indicate that he changed his party affiliation from Democrat to Republican in December of 2022, after Democrat Paul Flanagan lost to Republican Bob McComas in November of 2022. According to official records, Steele has always been registered as a Republican.
Lootpress reached out to James Paul Chapman for comment but he refused to comment on his party affiliation change from Democrat to Republican in 2022.
The May Primary is scheduled to be held on May 14, 2024.
