Judge David Wilmoth and civil litigation attorney Phil Isner took part in the forum, hosted by the Randolph County Republican Executive Committee Tuesday night at the Elks Lodge. Both candidates were given three minutes to speak.

Wilmoth, who has been the county’s circuit court judge since 2015, is seeking re-election, as his term will end at the close of 2024. He was the first to speak and talked about his tenure as judge.

“It has been an honor for me to serve,” Wilmoth said. “It’s an important job, and a job that requires dedication and character, and I think I have demonstrated those qualities since I took office.

“It’s been an honor for me to be able to serve in this capacity and I think I’ve done that well over the last nine years. I’ve shown you who I am. You know what to expect and you will continue to get that from me if you vote for me and put me back into office.”

Isner

Wilmoth talked about some of his accomplishments in the position.

“I was one of three judges picked to run the pilot program for the Family Treatment Court Program, and now 50 percent of the counties in the state have it because of what we started in Randolph, Boone and Ohio counties,” Wilmoth said. “I’m happy to have done that and proud of it.

“Since I’ve taken office I have coordinated with multiple state agencies and the Randolph County Board of Education to develop what is called the Youth Report Center. It serves students in the county when they are on probation or informally involved with the law. It gives them different opportunities to spend time in group sessions, training and learning, tutoring, classes, and things like that. It is a privilege to have been able to do that and I am very proud of it.”

Wilmoth said a study done between the years of 2016 and 2019 led to the state’s determination that a second judge was needed in Randolph County.

“As a result of that (time study), it was disclosed that I was doing the work of two different judges and that is why we now have a second division,” Wilmoth said. “In addition to doing all of that work, I was selected to serve on the Intermediate Court of Appeals when there was a conflict issue. I served in that capacity, and a number of different times I served in conflict cases in Upshur County, Lewis County, Hampshire County, Barbour County, Pendleton County, and was selected by the Supreme Court to serve on a three-judge panel in Nicholas County and Monongalia County.”

Wilmoth said he is prepared to continue serving the county.

“I’m proud of what I’ve done since I’ve been in office,” he said. “I think I served with judicial integrity, judicial temperament, and judicial character. Some may know, in May of last year I had a stroke and was life-flighted to Morgantown. I got back to work on July 10 and I’m working daily now, and working on taking care of myself physically. I have some physical impairments in my walk and my hand. Other than that I’m not impaired at all. I have tried three or four jury trials since then and proceeded over all three of the Grand Jurys that have taken place since then – I’m in court every day.”

Isner told those in attendance a little about himself and how he got his start into law.

“I was born and raised right here in Randolph County and was a 1995 graduate of Elkins High School before I went on to Alderson-Broaddus College and got a bachelor’s degree with a double major in business administration and marketing,” he said. “I followed the advice of a very good friend of mine to take the law school entrance exam and apply. The rest is history and I was accepted to WVU, where I graduated in 2003.”

Isner said he began his practice at a large law firm in Charleston, where he spent two years before returning to Elkins and first working with attorney Scott Curnutte for nine years. In 2014 he opened his own law office.

“One of the advantages of coming back and working at a smaller practice in a smaller town, plus being your own boss, is you have the opportunity to pick what type of cases you want to do,” he said. “Since I’ve been back I have been in the courtroom for criminal cases, civil cases, and I have both chased the ambulance and represented the insurance companies defending against those types of claims. I have represented people in the abuse and neglect forum, family court, and just about everything you can think about.” 

Isner said when he began practicing law he had a goal of having at least once case in every county in the state. Last week he hit county No. 51 when he was in Marshall County for a case.

“I think I bring a unique set of qualifications, because not only have I done all areas of law where I’ve spent lots and lots of time in the courtroom, I’ve also done it all over the state,” Isner said. “By doing it all over the state I have had the opportunity to see a whole bunch of different judges.

“I have had the opportunity to see how it’s done, to see the places I think it’s done well, and to see the places I think it’s done poorly. I’ve tried to take a little away from each place that I’ve been in and each judge that I have been in front of, in case some day I was fortunate enough to be a judge. So I think that makes me uniquely qualified to take this job and hit the ground running from Day 1.”

For the first time, two circuit judge seats will be filled in 2025, one in Division 1 and a new seat in Division II.

For the second circuit judge position, the candidates include Frank P. Bush Jr., Ray Lamora III, William “Ty” Nestor and Jaymie Godwin Wilfong. The Inter-Mountain will share their candidate forum comments in a separate article.