Robbie Skinner - We have a quick question...

Editorial Board - Opinion - Truth In Reporting

May 09, 2022

Dear Mayor Skinner,

On May 09, 2022, an article was published by Caiden Cowger with the Mountaineer Journal, boldly claiming that David McCauley is running for City Council so that...

"...he can continue being a thorn in Skinner’s flesh for two more years..." and "... He (Skinner) has been exposed to hyper-leftism, consisting of numerous liberals attending meetings solely to badger city council members, appearing like termites coming out of the woodwork of a rotting floorboard."

If you have not read the article in its entirety, please do so at your earliest convenience. We've copied and pasted excerpts below. Please accept this article as an official request for comment.

Excerpts from the Mountaineer News Article by its Publisher, Caiden Cowger:

"David McCauley isn’t really running for city council. He’s running for Mayor.

McCauley hopes to win this Buckhannon City Council election, presumably, so he can then run against Robbie Skinner for mayor in 2024. If he loses against Skinner in 2024, which he probably will, he can continue being a thorn in Skinner’s flesh for two more years, while occupying his council seat.

McCauley will ultimately use his presence on the council to diminish and undermine the authority of his mayoral successor, hoping to add to the council’s liberal block and conquer the Mayor’s Seat in 2024.

The former mayor is currently running against incumbent councilmembers Shelia Lewis-Sines and Dave Thomas, both right-of-center candidates.

Over the past several months, Skinner has witnessed challenges that no other mayoral administration has ever experienced in Buckhannon. He has been exposed to hyper-leftism, consisting of numerous liberals attending meetings solely to badger city council members, appearing like termites coming out of the woodwork of a rotting floorboard.

We are not dealing with kindhearted Kennedy Democrats, who love people, love our communities, and love our country. We are dealing with radical leftists who want to expel anyone who does not share their overtly radical views from our community: that includes the expulsion of both conservatives and moderates.

Skinner’s top legislative priorities must be to increase the level of transparency in city government, eliminating the tactics of deception used in order to hijack our elections. This comes by further expanding our electoral system of checks and balances. The only way for our community to heal is for the splinter to be removed. The solution is more transparency. It will ensure greater accountability to voters, and diminishes politicians’ ability to successfully use tactics of deception to win elections.

There is a reason why the city council election in Buckhannon is the most hotly contested and aggressive race in Upshur County. It’s up to Skinner to alleviate this problem, so that ultimately we can all begin to heal from the hyperpolitical campaigns of leftwing revolutionaries." ***

Mr. Cowger was recently featured in a Charleston Gazette-Mail article where they exposed his business practices. If you missed it, CLICK HERE or on the picture below.

Does Mayor Skinner approve of Caiden Cowger and the Mountaineer Journal using his good name to do nothing more than smear a political opponent he doesn't agree with? A response would be refreshing.

The Voters of Buckhannon are listening Mr. Mayor. -