KINGWOOD, W.Va. — Preston County Clerk Linda Huggins has announced her plans to retire at the end of July after serving as clerk since 2011. Huggins said recently some close to her have had health issues, some have even passed away, and she wants to take time to enjoy her family.
Huggins worked in the clerk’s office for 16 years before being elected to her first term in 2010. She expressed gratitude to the community and her staff for more than 30 years of service to the county and state.
“The county clerk’s position is a very rewarding job,” Huggins said. “You work with poll workers at election time, and they’re a very good group here in Preston County; we have wonderful people.”
Shortly after being elected to her first term, the derecho struck in June of 2012. In the aftermath of the storm, Huggins said they had to deploy eight or nine large generators to power polling places on election day. But, she said there were some feathers ruffled when a couple of early voting locations were closed at the advice of emergency management officials.
“That was a little controversial, but you couldn’t ask the voters to come out and vote early when residents needed supplies and electricity for medical reasons,” Huggins said.
During her second term, Huggins and her staff had to navigate the coronavirus pandemic. She said it was almost like learning how to do an election all over again with the focus on absentee ballots, social distancing, and working in personal protective equipment.
“We were very organized; we put our heads together to determine the best way to handle things, and we had good people for our checks and balances,” Huggins said. “We had a successful election.”
Her service also included a term as the president of the West Virginia County Clerks’ Association. Her term spanned the pandemic and included the protest including nearly all county clerks against the For the People Act that would have significant changes to federal election law.
“We had 99 percent of the county clerks come together and try to stop changes in federal election law, and Secretary Warner helped us with that,” Huggins said.
Huggins and her husband don’t have extensive travel plans, unless it’s to one of the sporting events her grandchildren are participating in or gardening. She recently had the idled garden plot tilled and plans to spend time in the soil with flowers and plants in her off time.
“We’ve got five grandchildren, and they’re all busy teenagers, and I want to pester them enough that they will always remember me and cheer for them at their ballgames,” Huggins said.