Mayor Skinner Reads Statement Regarding the David W. McCauley Indictment At City Council Meeting

BUCKHANNON, WV: The following statement was read at the October 4, 2024, City Council meeting by Mayor Robbie Skinner:

Members of City Council, Department Directors, Administration, Staff, and Citizens of our City of Buckhannon… Good evening, and thank you for joining us. The past 36 hours have certainly presented both our internal organization and greater community with challenges. By now, I’m sure everyone in attendance and watching live is aware that Mr. David Walter McCauley was arrested at his home Wednesday morning following a federal indictment on Tuesday, and charged with both the production and the possession of child pornography. He is currently being held without bond in the Northern Regional Jail awaiting a pretrial hearing set for Monday, October 7. All of this comes at the conclusion of a two-year federal investigation, first initiated in July 2022 by the Upshur County Sheriff’s Department.

First, I want to address the statement posted on social media yesterday. That very brief paragraph was preemptive, as details were unfolding. I would ask you to be mindful of three very important words in that statement, and they were: “at this time.” Yesterday morning, at the very onset of this situation, it would’ve been inappropriate to provide detailed comments. Attempting to remove a seated elected official is an extremely rare action. We needed to properly examine the process and procedures set forth by state code that we MUST follow verbatim to successfully remove Mr. McCauley from office. We have since reviewed the text, and tonight, the City of Buckhannon is prepared to provide our community with an informative and hopefully reassuring statement of how we plan to proceed as a governing body, and community.

Second, let me be very clear: ALL of us within the City of Buckhannon organization do NOT, under any circumstances, take lightly, support, or condone in any way the acts of which Mr. McCauley has been charged. Period. Any notion or belief otherwise is egregiously incorrect. If you are here tonight, or watching this broadcast online, and you overhear or see anyone claiming that the City of Buckhannon organization is complacent to, or supportive of the charged acts, please correct them immediately. Those acts are vehemently unwelcome in our community… by ALL of us.

Third, government entities are not the same as private businesses. Elected officials are not treated as traditional employees, and cannot be fired or removed from office with a simple vote or flick of a pen. In a general sense, that is a good thing, but all of us here tonight understand and agree with many in our community that, in this particular situation, we wish we could act quickly.

The question has been asked why Mr. McCauley was not removed from office two years ago when the investigation began. The answer is because no charges had been filed. Simply being under investigation is not sufficient enough to begin the process of removal from public office. A motion of the sort would have likely been denied by both local and state court systems, citing an ongoing investigation with the potential result of no charges filed. I will note, however, that Mr. McCauley was asked to tender his resignation from City Council in November of 2022, but refused.

West Virginia State Code §6-6-7 outlines a specific procedure for the removal of public officers. Following this statement, I will call upon City Attorney Tom O’Neill to share the exact process with everyone tonight that the Council MUST follow in order to remove Mr. McCauley from his seat as an elected member of City Council.

Having read and been briefed the process and procedures provided in state code, as Mayor, I will be calling for a special meeting, possibly by the end of next week, where members of City Council will be asked to support the following agenda item:

***ADOPT A FORMAL RESOLUTION OF IMPEACHMENT AND REMOVAL FROM OFFICE.***

This meeting will be open to the public, and the agenda will be publicly circulated through our regular channels of communication. Per open government laws, this meeting will require the agenda to be posted at least 72 hours in advance of the meeting date & time. This procedure is consistent with all City of Buckhannon meetings.

Finally, we hope you understand that we are just as angry, frustrated, sad, and embarrassed as you. Not only has Mr. McCauley endangered youth in our community and beyond, but his presence on this City Council for the past two years has made all of us uncomfortable, and has unfortunately scarred this entire organization of very good, honest, and hard-working people. Our beloved City of Buckhannon is far too wonderful of a place to continuously keep receiving a public black eye by people in positions of influence who have made bad decisions; decisions that hurt our youth, and hinder our growth potential. This must stop! If City, County, Education, etc. Public Officials are not holding positions because they wholeheartedly love our community, and want our collective best interests to be first and foremost, they should not hold office – either elected or appointed. Period.

Thank you for your time and your interest in this matter. We ask for your faith, trust, and patience as we promise to due diligently follow the policies and procedures set forth by state code. We are members of this city just like you, who all want justice to be done, and a governing body where ALL members have the support of the greater community. At this time, we do not know how long the process of removal will take, but like you, we sincerely hope it will move efficiently.

We will keep you updated, and should we need assistance from you, our fellow citizens, we will let you know if and how you can help. Our community is a family, and together, we will move forward. Thank you.

Sincerely,
Robbie Skinner
Mayor, City of Buckhannon

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