Putnam County Commission President Steve Andes could face a tough fight in the general election if Putnam voters repeat past patterns.

The last three incumbent Putnam County commissioners have lost bids for re-election.

In 2002, Clinton "Bud" Beaver lost to Andes. In 2004, Jim Withrow lost the Democratic primary. And in 2006, Jim Caruthers lost the general election to current Commissioner Gary Tillis.

Andes won the Republican primary Tuesday by 212 votes, defeating Hurricane resident Jerry Lilly.

In November, Andes will face Hurricane lawyer Bob Leslie, who ran unopposed Tuesday in the Democratic primary.

Incumbent county commissioners may face difficulties because they make so many decisions over their six-year terms, Andes said.

"In many cases when you make a decision, you're going to please some people, and some people are going to be upset with it," he said.

Andes, who manages Goody's Family Clothing on Corridor G, said he believes local government operations should be "run like a business."

"We need to be conservative going forward," he said. "Gas prices are at $4 a gallon."

He said he would "run on my record," which includes tax cuts for homeowners. In four out of six years that he has been in office, the commission has lowered the levy rate for taxpayers, he said.

Leslie said he wants to attract "high-end employers" to the county because surging gas prices are making Putnam residents' daily commutes unaffordable.

"When I moved to Putnam County years ago, it was affordable to live in Putnam County and work in Charleston, and I did it for a long while," Leslie said.

He said Andes is too focused on tax cuts.

"It seems to me that his primary focus is cut taxes, cut services, cut taxes, cut services," said Leslie, a first-time candidate. "The main thing to focus on, for me, in Putnam County is quality of life."

But Andes, a conservative Republican, said the county been able to improve services even as it has cut taxes.

"We have more sheriff's deputies," he said. "Parks and Recreation is better than it ever has been. The Development Authority is doing great things."

Leslie said he would make it a priority to develop a post-secondary education system in the county, something similar to the Marshall University Mid-Ohio Valley Center in Point Pleasant.

"I would love to see Marshall University locate here," he said. "If not Marshall University, then certainly one of the other flagship institutions in our state."

The county must look far into the future for economic development, Leslie said, "the 50-year plan or the 100-year plan."

Circuit Judge

The race for Putnam circuit judge in Division I also is likely to be hard-fought.

Democrat Phil Stowers beat fellow lawyer David Hill in the primary Tuesday, getting 58.5 percent of the vote.

Putnam County Commission President Steve Andes could face a tough fight in the general election if Putnam voters repeat past patterns.

The last three incumbent Putnam County commissioners have lost bids for re-election.

In 2002, Clinton "Bud" Beaver lost to Andes. In 2004, Jim Withrow lost the Democratic primary. And in 2006, Jim Caruthers lost the general election to current Commissioner Gary Tillis.

Andes won the Republican primary Tuesday by 212 votes, defeating Hurricane resident Jerry Lilly.

In November, Andes will face Hurricane lawyer Bob Leslie, who ran unopposed Tuesday in the Democratic primary.

Incumbent county commissioners may face difficulties because they make so many decisions over their six-year terms, Andes said.

"In many cases when you make a decision, you're going to please some people, and some people are going to be upset with it," he said.

Andes, who manages Goody's Family Clothing on Corridor G, said he believes local government operations should be "run like a business."

"We need to be conservative going forward," he said. "Gas prices are at $4 a gallon."

He said he would "run on my record," which includes tax cuts for homeowners. In four out of six years that he has been in office, the commission has lowered the levy rate for taxpayers, he said.

Leslie said he wants to attract "high-end employers" to the county because surging gas prices are making Putnam residents' daily commutes unaffordable.

"When I moved to Putnam County years ago, it was affordable to live in Putnam County and work in Charleston, and I did it for a long while," Leslie said.

He said Andes is too focused on tax cuts.

"It seems to me that his primary focus is cut taxes, cut services, cut taxes, cut services," said Leslie, a first-time candidate. "The main thing to focus on, for me, in Putnam County is quality of life."

But Andes, a conservative Republican, said the county been able to improve services even as it has cut taxes.

"We have more sheriff's deputies," he said. "Parks and Recreation is better than it ever has been. The Development Authority is doing great things."

Leslie said he would make it a priority to develop a post-secondary education system in the county, something similar to the Marshall University Mid-Ohio Valley Center in Point Pleasant.

"I would love to see Marshall University locate here," he said. "If not Marshall University, then certainly one of the other flagship institutions in our state."

The county must look far into the future for economic development, Leslie said, "the 50-year plan or the 100-year plan."

Circuit Judge

The race for Putnam circuit judge in Division I also is likely to be hard-fought.

Democrat Phil Stowers beat fellow lawyer David Hill in the primary Tuesday, getting 58.5 percent of the vote.

In November, he'll challenge incumbent Circuit Judge Ed Eagloski, who has served since 2001.

"I'm going to run hard and aggressive, and I will not take any opponent lightly," Eagloski said Wednesday. "I'm going to focus on my abilities and ... the experience I have handling all types of cases, civil, criminal and juvenile."

Criminal and juvenile cases make up about half the caseload, Eagloski said. He said he has more experience with criminal trials than Stowers does.

But Stowers said he has experience litigating complex civil suits - the types of cases that are being filed more frequently. He has tried cases before 25 circuit judges, he said.

"I have litigation experience that really not a lot of attorneys have," he said.

He also said records showed Eagloski has recently had a backlog on his civil docket.

Stowers said he would prioritize establishing a drug court, which he says would reduce repeat offenses and save taxpayers money: "It's a growing trend for a very good reason."

Eagloski said he has been in touch with the state Supreme Court since late last year about starting a drug court.

"We've been active in it, it's just that timing is an issue," he said.

In Division II, incumbent Circuit Judge O.C. "Hobby" Spaulding beat Winfield lawyer Rosalee Juba-Plumley in the Democratic primary with 62 percent of the vote.

Spaulding, a former prosecutor who was first elected judge 16 years ago, faces no opposition in November.

He and Juba-Plumley also faced off in 2000, when Spaulding got 72 percent of the vote.

Spaulding said he considered the 2008 race to be "the year of the woman."

Numerous female candidates won in the West Virginia Democratic primary, from Darlene Smith in the Putnam circuit clerk race to Hillary Clinton in the U.S. presidential race.

"I think that brought a lot of female voters out, and I survived it," Spaulding said. "I'm just glad to be here, and I'm thankful."

High Democrat turnout

Overall, about 40 percent of Putnam voters turned out to vote in the primary, said County Clerk Brian Wood.

Slightly more Putnam voters are registered Democrat than Republican, but on Tuesday more than twice as many Democrats turned out to vote.

Turnout among Democrats was about 66 percent; only about 33 percent of Republicans showed up. Those numbers could be slightly skewed because independent voters could request ballots in either primary, he said.

The low Republican turnout was probably because so many of the Republican candidates ran unopposed, Wood said.

"[The Democrat voters] had a lot of stuff to make decisions on," he said.

To contact staff writer Alison Knezevich, use e-mail or call 348-1240.