W.Va. Judges Remove Richwood Mayor From Office

A three-judge panel in West Virginia has approved a city council’s request to remove Richwood Mayor Bob Henry Baber from office.

News outlets report the judges dismissed several of the Richwood council’s allegations, but agreed Baber used city funds to reimburse personal power and cellphone bills and misused his city purchasing card.

Baber says he had not read the panel’s findings in detail but criticized the council for wasting time and money on what he called a “witch hunt.” Baber led Richwood in the wake of the June 2016, flood, garnering attention to the community’s recovery efforts.

The judicial panel said Friday that Baber’s actions were “the epitome of an improper abuse of one’s political position.” The panel was established by the state Supreme Court and led by Fayette Circuit Judge Paul Blake Jr.