FAIRMONT, W.Va. — A group of Fairmont residents is circulating a petition to remove two members of the Fairmont City Council for comments the elected officials made online.
The petition is aimed at recalling Councilmembers Barry Bledsoe and David Kennedy, in which both have received criticism for posts targeting political figures and communities.
Organizer David Ice said residents are concerned about the city’s image, and the language of Bledsoe and Kennedy could discourage businesses from moving to Fairmont.
“We’re labeled as a friendly city, and with them making those remarks, that doesn’t make us a friendly city,” he said. “That put us a bad city.”
The Fairmont City Council voted earlier this month to rebuke Bledsoe following social media posts in which he called Democratic vice presidential candidate Kamala Harris a “hoe” and referred to state Delegate Danielle Walker, D-Monongalia, as “satanic.”
Bledsoe did apologize for his comments on Harris but said his criticism of Walker was because of her pro-abortion stance.
“Anything that I said that they don’t like wasn’t racist and it wasn’t even unfriendly,” Bledsoe told MetroNews affiliate WAJR-AM. “It was simply a matter of responding to political issues.”
The council in January and July voted to censure Kennedy for racist and sexist language used on social media.
“Taylor County communists were sponsors of Fairmont City Council Petition, that recall petition has one motive, to silence myself and Bledsoe,” Kennedy said online. ” Put us out of the way of certain subversive group will have almost total power to make the decisions for the city. As conservatives we pose real threats to their radical work. If we are gone nobody will come forward in the future to take there lies, slander, abuse, and corruption. We’ll fight this fight until the end and my term ends in two years.”
Kennedy and Bledsoe have two years each on their terms.
“If any group can simply take up arms and try to remove a politician because they don’t like his stand, that could lead to a bad future,” Bledsoe said.
Ice said he and other residents will go to various homes and ask people to support the petition.
“We’re going to do petition drives and go door-to-door,” he said. “With COVID-19, we will do social distancing and everything.
According to the Marion County Clerk’s Office, the petition needs 2,461 for the recall to be successful. All signees must be Fairmont residents and have registered to vote in the November 2018 election.