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DAVE McLAUGHLIN

BENWOOD — Dave McLaughlin, Republican nominee for Marshall County commissioner, sees population loss as the county’s greatest challenge — and an issue that causes a host of other problems for the community.

He is challenging incumbent Democrat Commissioner Mike Ferro in the Nov. 5 election.

“My vision for our county is to increase population, lower property taxes, then revitalize and grow the county through the construction of new homes,” he said.

McLaughlin, 50, grew up in the Benwood/McMechen area. As an adult, he moved to Glen Dale then to Moundsville. He is currently the director of operations and development for the city of Benwood — where he also worked 20 years as a police officer.

Along the way, McLaughlin served two terms as Marshall County magistrate and was a Glen Dale council member.

He is president of the Marshall County Fraternal Order of Police and has been vice president of the West Virginia Magistrates Association. He also has been a small ÀÏ˾»úÖ±²¥ owner and opened the Subway in Benwood.

McLaughlin is married to Lori Gouldsberry McLaughlin, and together they have six adult children.

“We’ve had a drastic decline in population in Marshall County, and it affects many aspects of our county,” he said.

McLaughlin cited U.S. Census numbers showing 54 of the 55 West Virginia counties losing population over the last decade. The average loss among the counties was 3.1%, and Marshall County’s was 7.6%.

“Our population has dropped drastically, and that drop in population affects us a lot,” he said. “Our communities are suffering.”

Marshall County is having a rough time attracting ÀÏ˾»úÖ±²¥es, as prospective developers tend to shy away from areas that are losing population, McLaughlin noted. The workforce becomes more limited, and there is less tax money going into the local school system that produces workers.

“That’s one of my reasons for wanting to address our population. It’s making our education system suffer,” he said. “Our schools have declined in enrollment 15 of the last 17 years.

“You can see the trend. We’re losing population, losing student enrollment and not getting new jobs coming into the county.”

McLaughlin wants to work with municipalities in the county to develop a plan to grow the population.

“The collaboration between counties and municipalities isn’t where it should be,” he said. “I want to collaborate on programs with them to grow communities, grow our schools and convince ÀÏ˾»úÖ±²¥es to locate here.”

He added that he is devoted to Marshall County.

“I have a passion to help others. I love Marshall County,” McLaughlin said. “A lot of my friends moved away, but I stayed here because I love Marshall County. I love our school district, and it is a beautiful place. … I want to change it into a destination place. I want my kids to live in Marshall County, and for people to move here and build homes.”