CHARLESTON, W.Va. — New Kanawha County Commission President Ben Salango is ready to take the reins in 2025.
Salango, who has been on the Kanawha County Commission for eight years, was named the president last week during the first meeting of the year.

Salango says he doesn’t want to make the vote seem drastic.
“Honestly, it’s never been a big deal,” Salango said on “580” Live with Dave Allen Monday. “The commission president sets the agenda, but historically, anytime a commissioner wants to get something on the agenda, they can get it there.”
“It’s a title. The vote doesn’t weigh any more than the other two commissioners. It’s just a title (but) it is a lot more work,” Salango said.

Salango becomes the county’s third commission president in three years, as longtime Commission President Kent Carper resigned from the role in May after an investigation came about regarding alleged lewd behavior. Lance Wheeler served as president until Salango won the vote last week.
Salango says Commissioner Lance Wheeler did a great work during a trying time for the commission.
“Commission President (Lance) Wheeler did a great job over the last year. Lance is as sharp as a tack, very hard working, and did a great job as president,” Salango said. “He came in at a time when there was a lot going on with county commission. It was just a lot going on and he stepped up and really took the reins and spent a lot of time making sure that the budget was worked out, that we didn’t have any issues. He did a wonderful job.”
Salango says another difference in commission president and being a normal commissioner is working with the legislation, and he’s ready to pick up where Wheeler left off as a new administration comes in.
“That’s another thing that Commissioner Wheeler has done a great job at is working with our legislative delegation and trying to get legislation that’s favorable to the county, helping us save money, helping with safety, helping with our first responders,” Salango said. “I’m anxious to work with the new administration top to bottom and make sure that we are working well together. I think Patrick Morrisey will do a great job.”

Working alongside Salango and Wheeler is new Commissioner Natalie Tennant. Tennant sat in for her first meeting last week, and Salango says the former Secretary of State will add a unique perspective.
“I think Natalie (Tennant) is going to bring a lot to the table,” Salango said. “Natalie likes to understand how things work, and so she really gets down to the nitty gritty and to the details of every issue and she’s already started doing that.”
In the commission’s latest meeting, Wheeler spoke on the 2025-2026 budget, saying the commission needed to be very precise with its budget and potentially cut back on spending, as he didn’t see an increase on the horizon.
Salango says the budget is the biggest concern for all three commissioners.
“Making sure that our budget is under control is, honestly, it’s the number one priority,” Salango said.
Salango says the most daunting challenges the commission is up against in maintaining its budget is the recent increases to PEIA and an ever-changing situation with maintaining regional jails.
“PEIA and the jail bill. Those are the two biggest things,” Salango. “With PEIA, we’re expecting probably an $800,000 increase this year. We’ve got to figure out how to pay for that. The jail bill has been trending upward. We had some legislation put through a couple years ago that saved us some money, but unfortunately, that’s kind of creeping up again. So, those are the two biggest costs.”
Salango and the rest of the commission will also be working towards a pair of high-profile projects while trying to maintain the budget. The commission recently sent the Kanawha County Judicial Building renovation project to a re-bid due to the original high bid coming in far over budget. The commission is also working towards revised plans to the Capital Sports Center in Charleston.
Salango says the county’s staff outside of the three commissioners help make the job much easier despite the challenges.
“The real thing is, we’ve got great staff,” Salango said. “The rest of our staff, they just do a remarkable job and they’re hard-working and they’re not nine-to-fivers. When you’re working for the county, honestly, it’s more than a full-time job.”