Marco heading state Municipal League
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ELKINS -- Elkins Mayor Jerry Marco has been sworn in as the 2026-2027 president of the West Virginia Municipal League, and the organization’s next annual convention will take place in Elkins.
During a ceremony in Charleston on Aug. 6, outgoing WVML president and Charleston Mayor Amy Shuler Goodwin passed the gavel to Marco, who was elected by his fellow municipal leaders from across the state. Marco, who previously served as the league’s vice president, will serve as WVML president for the 2026-2027 term.
“(It’s) truly an honor,” Marco told The Inter-Mountain. “I get to represent our region. I feel it’s a blessing from God to be able to serve the citizens of Elkins and also serve as the municipal president. I’m truly blessed.”
The WVML is a statewide, nonprofit nonpartisan association of cities, towns and villages that has assisted local governments since 1968, a City of Elkins press release stated. With a membership including all 230 municipalities in the state, the league achieves its mission through “legislative advocacy, research, education and other services” for municipal elected officials.
Last year, Marco received the WVML's "Quiet Strength" award for his ‘dedication to the league,” the release states. He has also been appointed to the National League of Cities (NLC) Small Cities Council, where he advocates collaboration and resource development for U.S. cities similar to Elkins in size, demographics and challenges.
“A lot of times it’s easier to focus primarily on the larger cities,” Marco said. “Being in this role right now gives me the opportunity to be a voice for our region and that’s something we’ve been lacking in the past, so I want to make sure that we’re very thorough with it and we talk to the folks that we need to talk to. Whether it be the delegates, the senators and then also talk to other municipalities. If they have any bills that are going out, what can we do? How can we work together to do what’s best for our constituents? Because we all serve the same constituents at the end of the day.”
Among his responsibilities, the City of Elkins says Marco will have a leading role in setting policy direction. He will serve on the league's legislative policy committee and act as the organization's public face. He will also host the annual President's Breakfast to welcome new members.
“We (Elkins) will actually be hosting the West Virginia Municipal League Board of Directors Conference, so that’s about 40 to 60 people who will be coming in for that in the spring, and I get to showcase what we’re doing here (in Elkins),” Marco said. “So we’ll be working with some of our community partners to show off what we have here, and I’m very excited about that.
“The great thing about it, during this (recent) conference, the feedback that I received regarding the City of Elkins has been nothing but positive. So from the outside looking in, they love what we’re doing here, they love the momentum, and I have to give credit to all our community partners, our workers and our volunteers.”
Marco was first elected as mayor of Elkins in 2021 for a two-year term and was re-elected to a four-year term in 2023.