Appeal filed to W.Va. Supreme Court over mayoral race

HURRICANE, W.Va. -- An appeal has been filed to the West Virginia Supreme Court of Appeals over the 2007 Hurricane mayoral election.

Sam Cole, who lost the 2007 race for mayor to current Mayor Scott Edwards, has filed the appeal claiming that some ballots counted in the election should be thrown out.

In a letter to the Putnam County Commission dated July 6, 2007, Cole's attorneys David Moye and Lisa Moye requested intervention stating, "Mr. Cole contends that the ballots for those individuals who voted prior to the election were improperly included in the election results since such ballots were not placed in secrecy envelopes and sealed."

After the June 2007 election, the City of Hurricane conducted a recount at Cole's request. The recount, which included the early voting ballots, still declared Edwards the winner.

The Secretary of State's office will not confirm or deny whether the agency investigated the election.

Cole petitioned the Putnam Circuit Court to intervene and a hearing was held in September 2007. Judge O.C. Spaulding ordered that Hurricane's newly elected City Council hold a formal proceeding to hear Cole's concerns on the matter.

Edwards petitioned the court the following month, asking that Spaulding's order be overturned because Cole waited more than 10 days following the election certification to file his request. Judge Ed Eagloski ruled in Edwards' favor.

Edwards has stood firm on his opinion of the election outcome.

"I'll fight it till the end," he said. "The people voted and I was elected. That's it."

Cole has declined to comment on this matter. His attorney David Moye was unavailable for comment.

Cole petitioned the West Virginia Supreme Court this January asking that Spaulding's orders be upheld so that the matter can be taken before the City Council in a formal proceeding. His petition to receive a hearing was granted this past week, according to the Putnam County Circuit Clerk's office.