Magisterial districts may change

Morgan County is currently broken up into three magisterial districts, with a county commissioner elected from one of those districts on a staggered six-year election cycle.

Members of the Morgan County school board are also elected along magisterial district lines.

Magisterial District #1 includes much of Morgan County geographically on both sides of Warm Springs Ridge. Paw Paw, Great Cacapon, Town of Bath and the Cacapon State Park area are all included. The district is currently represented by Commissioner Brenda Hutchinson.

Commission President Stacy Dugan was elected from Magisterial District #2 which includes North Berkeley and other parts of Berkeley Springs, areas south of town and the Greenwood voting precinct.

The rest of Berkeley Springs and the northeast section of the county makes up Magisterial District #3, which is represented by Commissioner Brad Close.

While the commissioners and school board members are said to represent the different districts, the voting is countywide. The districts only regulate which candidates can run in any given election.

Workshop Thursday
This Thursday, September 15, the county commission and County Clerk, who oversees elections for the county, will discuss possible changes to the present magisterial districts, based on population changes in the 2010 Census.

The districts must have about the same populations so there could be some changes in the district lines.

Another possibility could be to add one or more districts before the end of the calendar year.

A workshop on the issue will begin at 12:15 pm following the County Commission meeting on Thursday.

Any changes to the district lines would have to be final before the 2012 election year begins. Candidates in the 2012 election can begin filing on January 9.

The commissioners have said they will likely hold a public hearing before making any decisions about adding new districts or shifting district lines.