| COMMENT Bob Weaver
In the last polyticks column we acknowledged its pretty hard to get the political drift or spins since Calhoun's last barbershop closed this year.
Bim the Barber was the moderator of the shop's visitors.
The barbershop bunch took their politics very seriously, and was often the source about who was on first base.
Now the speculation and spins are being played out on social media, and a nickels worth in this column.
In recent years, dominant political factions have faded with their slates, which is a good thing.
Now, it's a pretty open free-for-all.
Perhaps the most recent observations relates to the sheriff's race.
Sheriff Carl Ballengee has consistently announced he will not run for another term as sheriff, but has indicted he might run for a magistrate seat.
Grantsville Police Chief Andy Walker has pre-announced his candidate for sheriff, and serious speculation has been that Jeff Starcher, currently a deputy sheriff, would be running for sheriff.
Starcher has eight years of experience, a former Grantsville Police Chief, former deputy and former enforcement officer for the WV Department of Transportation.
Starcher's run now appears dampened because Sheriff Carl Ballengee has not placed him in the Chief Deputy spot, a position left open for several months after Chief Deputy J. D. Smith resigned.
Sheriff Ballengee recently asked the Calhoun Commission to pay Jeff Starcher at the Chief Deputy rate, without him holding the position.
Forty seven of the state's 55 counties have a Chief Deputy, and until now, Calhoun sheriff's have maintained the slot.
Starcher is left in the lurch since he would have to resign his deputy position to run for Sheriff.
Sheriff Ballengee has said he is supporting Charles McCroskey for Sheriff, who is now a part-time deputy and was a former Grantsville Police Chief.
McCroskey has failed attempts to become sheriff, and was disappointed after he was hired temporarily by former Sheriff Allen Parsons as a Police Resource Officer for Calhoun Middle-High School before a grant from the state could be issued to fund the project.
The county did not get the grant, with commissioners concerned about a number of additional costs for the hire to come from a tight county budget, including the purchase of a cruiser and related expenses for the school officer.
So far, a few other Calhoun citizen, has expressed interest in the sheriff's position.
Having lots of candidates makes things interesting.
The 2016 Calhoun election could return to earlier times when the ballot was thick with candidates.
When Teresa Robinson Carpenter retired as longtime magistrate, it was reported that about a dozen filed their resumes with Chief Circuit Judge David W. Nibert, who made the appointment for the unexpired term.
Judge Nibert appointed Lora Davis to fill a recent magistrate vacancy.
Rumors are afloat with potential magistrate candidates.
Magistrate Davis says she will be running for the position, and incumbent Magistrate Rick Postalwait is also running.
Effective with the primary election of 2016, all elections for judges and magistrates will be non-partisan, to be decided in the Primary Election.
Beginning in the 2016 Election, magistrates will be by division. Division is not about geographical location, but based on the number of magistrates in a county.
By running in divisions, the candidates will have to specifically state which office or "division" they are going to run for.
Candidates in a particular division only run against candidates in that same division.
Judges David W. Nibert and Thomas Evans III are retiring.
A significant change related to judges in the 5th judicial district of Mason, Jackson, Roane and Calhoun, a third judge has been added, which means a judge will be elected from Mason, Jackson and Roane-Calhoun.
Family Court Judge Larry Whited of Calhoun has pre-filed for the judgeship, with Roane attorney Anita Ashley also filing pre-candiacy papers for the race, among others from other counties.
In the Calhoun Commission race, 21-year-old Michael Hicks has pre-filed his candidacy, according to an interview in the Calhoun Chronicle.
Hicks is currently chairman of the Calhoun Democratic Executive Committee.
Hicks, a WVU student, is working toward being certified as a agricultural and extension extension teacher, saying he will market the county as a tourism destination, support action against the drug problem in the county, and develop more recreational opportunities.
"Older candidates and I represent two opposite ends of the spectrum, and the people of Calhoun want something different," Hicks told the Calhoun Chronicle.
Hicks grew up on Henry's Fork and is a graduate of Roane Co. High School, and calls his candidacy "New Leadership for New Generation."
He will be opposing Calhoun Commissioner Bob Weaver, who has announced he will be running for a final term.
Melissa Falls, a tax deputy for Sheriff Carl Ballengee, has told friends of her intentions to run for Calhoun Commission.
Two seats will be open for the Board of Education, now held by Cynthia Dale and Larry Harris. Dale said she is undecided if she will run for another term and Harris has decided not to run.
Former County Clerk Richard Kirby, according to the Calhoun Chronicle, told school board members at a meeting, saying "I'll be quite honest with you, I'm so upset with the way you are doing things that I might run, but right now I don't plan on it because I could do just about as much as a citizen."
County Clerk Jean Simers says she will be running for the position in 2016, after first being appointed to an unexpired term and then being elected to fill the unexpired term.
Circuit Clerk Shelia Garretson, Assessor Jason Nettles, and Prosecutor Shannon Johnson will be seeking re-election.
Former House of Delegates representative David Walker (D) has pre-filed, with Delegate Roger Hanshaw (R) currently holding the position.
Official filing is in January, 2016.
Unfortunately, West Virginia generally gets the nod for low voter turn-out.
Democrats are looking to regain the WV Senate after Republicans wrested control of both chambers from them following the 2014 elections. The GOP holds a slim 18-16 Senate majority but has a comfortable House advantage.
Political reporters say up to $1 billion dollars will be spent in state races in the US.
In WV races, the last election cycle, large sums filtered down to local legislative races, much of it under the Supreme Court's Citizens United decision, which gave legal person-hood to corporations.
Where's Bim when we need him?
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