City attorney outlines charter amendment to move municipal elections to May primary; council moves item toward public hearing

Morgantown — Ryan Samuelson (city attorney) detailed an ordinance proposing a charter amendment May 27 to move city elections to the May primary, in order to comply with 2025 Senate Bill 50 that requires municipalities to align elections with either the May primary or November general election.

Key provisions: The proposed charter amendment would transition Morgantown’s staggered, four-year council terms from odd-year elections to even-year May primary elections. To accomplish the change without interrupting staggered terms, the ordinance creates interim three-year terms for the council seats up in 2027 and 2029; after the transition period, terms would return to four-year staggered cycles on the even-year schedule. Candidate filing and withdrawal deadlines would be adjusted to track state law (including a filing-certification deadline on the last Saturday in January and a nomination deadline 49 days before the election).

Administration and ballots: Samuelson said that after the change, elections would be administered by the county clerk (the city clerk would continue to handle nominating petitions), and ballots would be included on county-administered ballots. Because the proposal is a charter amendment, the ordinance is scheduled for a 30-day public-notice period and a public hearing, with final consideration tentatively set for council’s July 15 meeting.

Council response: Councilors asked clarifying questions about which seats would have three-year terms (2027 and 2029 classes) and potential impacts on the city clerk’s workload during the transition. The attorney and clerk explained the county would administer the actual elections on the new schedule.

Ending: Council moved the proposed charter amendment to the agenda for the required public-hearing process; staff will publish notice and schedule the public hearing prior to final action.