By Pat Hanna
Summersville surgeon Yancy Short was on his way to a convincing victory Tuesday night over incumbent Nicholas County Commissioner Tom Blankenship.
With 20 of 28 precincts reporting, Short had 6,488 votes (64 percent) to Blankenship’s 3,707 (36 percent).
In becoming the first Republican to be elected to a county office in 20 years, Short also ended Blankenship’s 28-year run in public office. Blankenship, a Democrat, served eight years as county clerk, eight years as sheriff and was seeking his third six-year term as commissioner.
“I’m probably a little shocked, probably a little humbled,” Short said Tuesday night. “I made this campaign a community effort. I wanted to see the community come together. It means a lot to me. I want to continue to serve the county as a physician and a county commissioner.
“I know the community expects a lot from me. I want to buckle down and get to work and make a difference for this county.”
Short said his priorities will be to get business into a new $4 million industrial park just outside Summersville, help restore trust in the commission following a scandal that led to criminal charges against county Emergency Services Director Joey DeRito, who later resigned, and help complete a number of water projects.
Meanwhile, a levy designed to produce $2.5 million over five years and increase pay for county sheriff’s deputies was going down to defeat. There were 5,387 votes against the levy and 3,778 for it. It needed 60 percent approval to pass.
“We need to try to find some way to fund these salaries so that the deputies are not on assisted living,” Short said. “I want to look at other counties of comparable size and see what they’re paying their deputies. If we’re underpaying them, we’ve got to find a way to step up to the plate for them.”
In other Nicholas County results:
- Circuit Judge Gary Johnson, Sheriff Wetzel Bennett, Assessor Ernie Dennison and Magistrates Bobby Gordon, Mike Cooper and John Morton were re-elected without opposition. All are Democrats.
- Democrat Don Bischoff was unopposed for family court judge, Democrat P.K. Milam was unopposed for prosecuting attorney, and Democrat Debbie Facemire was unopposed in an election to fill the unexpired term of circuit clerk.
- In House of Delegates races, incumbent Democrats Sam Argento and Joe Talbott were unopposed in the 35th and 36th districts, respectively.
- Democrat Wayne Acord was unopposed for surveyor, while Chris Mondreas and Rush Butcher were unopposed for conservation district supervisors.
— E-mail: phanna@register-herald.com
