Vacancy panel recommends 4 lawyers for possible next Kanawha circuit judge

CHARLESTON, W.Va. — The state Judicial Vacancy Advisory Commission has submitted the names of four Kanawha County lawyers to Gov. Jim Justice for possible selection to fill the seat recently vacated with the retirement of longtime Kanawha County Circuit Judge Jim Stucky.

The names sent by letter to the governor include Dan Greear, Ben Mishoe, Gary Pullin and Tera Salango.

The commission interviewed eight candidates last Thursday.

The governor is expected to make a decision in the near future.The person chosen will serve just a few months because the non-partisan seat will be up for election in November. The person elected in November will serve the remaining six years of the unexpired term.

Greear, the chief of staff at the House of Delegates, and Salango, a Charleston attorney and former Kanawha County assistant prosecutor, have both filed pre-candidacy papers to seek the judgeship in the November vote.

Stucky resigned in April after a long illness.