West Virginia Republicans have chosen the former chief of staff at Beckley’s VA Medical Center as the new GOP chairman.
He’s the new leader of the state party, but also today acknowledged his dismissal from the VA hospital amid allegations not enough was done to stop the sexual abuse of veterans by a doctor on staff. “However,” he said, “this election is not about me.”
Dr. Mark Harris was elected by votes of state Republican officials during a Saturday afternoon meeting in Charleston.
He’ll be a new face for the party that now dominates West Virginia politics. Republicans took the lead in voter registration over Democrats last month for the first time since 1932. Last year, Republicans won the governor’s race, the other executive offices and supermajorities in the state Legislature.
The role is responsible for organization, fundraising and outreach to the public.
The other candidate was former GOP Chairman Conrad Lucas, who ran for Congress in 2018 and who ran former Commerce Secretary Woody Thrasher’s campaign for governor last spring against incumbent Gov. Jim Justice.
The final vote was 56-53, although there were a couple of false starts on the voting.
The state party and the political account of Justice, a Republican, quickly congratulated Harris.
Congratulations, Dr. Mark Harris, on being elected Chairman of the @WVGOP. I look forward to working with you to build and grow our Republican Party. #WVGOP
— Jim Justice (@JimJusticeWV) March 13, 2021
Harris was elected chairman of the Raleigh County Republican Party in 2019. He was named “county chair of the month” last March in a post where the party described him as “a health care executive and a Christian minister. Dr. Harris enjoy a wide variety of activities and is a senior flight instructor, expert in world religions and cultures, and an instructor in Tae Kwon Do.”
By late August of last year, Raleigh County went from having a majority of registered Democratic voters, to a majority of registered Republican voters.
At the state level, Harris will replace the most recent state GOP leader, Melody Potter, who resigned in January while describing family needs. Potter endorsed Harris in a letter last week to state Republicans, citing his support for the party prior to becoming a local chairman.
“I would see him at fundraising dinners and at meetings with his family,” Potter wrote. “Under my tenure as WV GOP chair, I always found Chairman Harris to be very courteous, helpful and prayerful.”
The acting chairman of the party has been Roman Stauffer, who led Justice’s re-election campaign.
I join @WVGovernor @JimJusticeWV in congratulating Dr. Mark Harris on his election as Chairman of the @WVGOP. We had a great meeting on Friday to discuss the importance of our Party leadership and moving forward. #WVGOP https://t.co/d4KyGzFuHk
— Roman Stauffer (@RomanStaufferWV) March 13, 2021
Harris was appointed chief of staff at the Beckley VA Hospital in 2017 and was responsible for clinical operations there and and at community clinics in Greenbrier and Mercer counties.
He previously was the regional medical officer at CareMore Health Systems in Memphis, Tenn., and had served as Army Medical Department ambassador to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
In November, 2019, Harris was dismissed during the investigation of sexual assault charges against a former doctor at the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center in Raleigh County.
“There are times in every organization when new leadership is needed. This is one of those times, and we are confident that as William Carson assumes the duties of Beckley VAMC acting chief of staff, he will provide consistency and strong leadership until a permanent chief of staff is named. We thank Dr. Harris for his service, and wish him all the best in the future,” said the hospital’s public affairs officer in a statement.
In September 2019, an investigation opened into the sexual assaults of multiple veterans who had sought medical treatment at the hospital. In April, 2020, Dr. Jonathan Yates was charged and arrested. He was sentenced to 25 years in prison.
Yates started work at the hospital in April, 2018.
As the situation at the hospital became public, West Virginia’s senior Republican, Senator Shelley Moore Capito, said she was appalled.
“Our veterans need to feel safe and cared for at our VA hospitals. No one should live in fear of being attacked or feel as though they are unsafe—especially in this way and in a place like one of our VA facilities,” Capito stated then.
“I am horrified and disgusted by the news coming out of the Beckley VA. This should have never happened in the first place, and I am committed to making sure this is fully investigated.”
Capito hasn’t yet responded to an invitation to comment for this story and has not publicly commented on the new GOP chairman.
The federal prosecutor whose office handled the Beckley VAMC investigation that led to charges against Yates publicly congratulated Harris, the former chief of staff. Mike Stuart is a former state GOP chairman who was U.S. Attorney for Southern West Virginia during the Trump administration.
Since 2009 when I was elected Chair and transformed the WVGOP, those in my leadership team have led the Party. Congrats to Mark Harris on his election today as #WVGOP Chair. I will assist as needed to fight for a better future for all West Virginians of every party.
— Mike Stuart (@MikeStuartWV) March 14, 2021
More than 40 civil cases continue, with plaintiffs alleging the hospital’s leaders should have done more to protect patients.
“Beckley VAMC supervisory personnel had non-discretionary obligations to identify and report the actions of Dr. Jonathan Yates,” a lawyer wrote for one of the veterans, known as Doe 27, in a federal lawsuit that has since been consolidated with the others.
By failing to do so, the lawsuit contends, the hospital’s leadership fell short on assuring the violation of veterans wouldn’t happen again.
“Because numerous patients made Dr. Yates’ conduct known to other members of the Beckley VAMC medical staff,” the lawsuit stated, “this constituted ‘a harmful or potentially harmful adverse event which was not an isolated case but rather a systems issue affecting multiple patients.'”
Stephen New, the Beckley attorney who filed the 44 cases, said they are not necessarily directed at Harris.
“But he and staff failed miserably and allowed Yates to practice despite complaints coming within 2-3 months of Yates arrival in Beckley. Harris and others didn’t appropriately credential Yates,” New said in an email.
“And once my clients came forward in September 2018, the Beckley VAMC did nothing to take action against Yates and allow the conduct to continue until March 2019 when Yates was suspended.”
Harris today addressed his dismissal from the VA Hospital to West Virginia GOP Committee members, according to coverage by the Ogden Newspapers.
“A person who worked for me engaged in serious misconduct and was removed,” Harris said. “Shortly thereafter, I was replaced as chief of staff and currently I am retired. However, this election is not about me. It’s also not about you… It’s about us. It’s about the Republican Party of West Virginia.”