BECKLEY, WV (LOOTPRESS) – Recently elected officials for the City of Beckley, including mayor and members of common council, were sworn in Monday morning at the Raleigh County Judicial Center.
Raleigh County Circuit Judge Darl Poling oversaw the proceedings, with dozens of community members making their way out to witness the ceremony firsthand.
Among those taking their oath of office on Monday were incoming Beckley Common Council members Natalie Coots who will represent Ward 1, Nancy Shoemaker-Dingess who will represent Ward 2, Frank Williams who will represent Ward 3, and Kip Buchannan who will represent Ward 4.
Also emerging victorious in the May 14th Primary Election was Ryan Neal, who was sworn in as the new Mayor of Beckley. Neal will step into the role formerly occupied by Rob Rappold, although Neal will notably be the first mayor in the city’s history to work alongside a city manager.
“This is a fresh start! This should be exciting for the people of Beckley,” said Neal. “You still have Cody [Reedy], Sherrie Hunter, and Janine [Bullock], but with all the new people, we’ve all been talking a lot for the last couple of months and we’re all excited to get started.”
As the city continues its search for city manager candidates, the role will be filled on a temporary basis by former treasurer/recorder Billie Trump, who was also sworn in by Judge Polk on Monday, while Jessica Chandler, who served as city controller, was sworn in as interim recorder/treasurer.
Mayor Neal expressed excitement at the prospect of working alongside Trump to address city matters.
“I like Billy a lot, I think we’ll work together great. But he is going to be kind of the CEO of the city,” Neal explained. “The way him and I discussed it is, City Council and myself will kind of steer the future of what we want that look like, and Billy’s job is to make sure he gets us there.”
One of the only remaining incumbent members of council, Councilman at-Large Cody Reedy expressed optimism at the ongoing changes for the city, “I feel really optimistic about the new team. I think everybody’s got a little fire in their belly and they want to do what’s best for the city and work with the citizens,” said Reedy at Monday’s ceremony. “Me and the mayor have spoken a lot over the last few months and we’re both getting ready to take the city in a great direction.”
Following Monday’s swearing-in ceremony, the official representatives for the City of Beckley are as follows:
Mayor: Ryan Neal
Interim City Manager: Billie Trump
Interim Recorder/Treasurer: Jessica Chandler
Common Council Representatives:
Ward 1 – Natalie Coots
Ward 2 – Nancy Shoemaker-Dingess
Ward 3 – Frank Williams
Ward 4 – Kip Buchannon
Ward 5 – Janine Bullock
At-Large Representative – Cody Reedy
At-Large Representative – Sherrie Hunter
