MOUNDSVILLE — Marshall County Assessor Eric Buzzard is switching his political party affiliation — from Democrat to Republican — to better represent the changing political climate in Marshall County and West Virginia.

“This was a tough decision my family and I made but I feel it is the right one to keep Marshall County one of the top counties in the state,” the first-term county assessor said.

Buzzard said he appreciates everyone who supported his election in 2020. He said he had to earn the respect of many Democrats in the county, and he will be asking for their support in 2024 while running as a Republican.

“As I said before I believe I can best represent and serve all county residents aligning myself with the majority party,” he said.

“As far as re-election I hope my work ethic and success during my first term will set me apart from any other candidate. My priority is and will remain the citizens of Marshall County and keeping their assessments fair and low. This approach has proven successful as we have just had one of the top assessment years for Marshall County all while keeping our resident’s best interest in mind.”

The move came to the disappointment of Barbara Scott, chairwoman of the Marshall County Democratic Executive Committee.

On the committee’s social media page, Scott posted a message she received from Buzzard informing her of his decision, and her reply to his message.

In his message, Buzzard wrote that after much discussion with his family he has chosen to switch political parties. He noted he did not want Scott to “hear it through the grapevine,” but instead hear directly from him.

In her reply to Buzzard, Scott thanked Buzzard for letting her know, but also expressed disappointment.

“You were elected as a Democrat; that you choose to change parties in midstream is a disappointment and a betrayal especially after you and I had this discussion last fall,” Scott wrote.

“How you think you can better represent the taxpayers who elected you as a Democrat by flipping to a Republican is a puzzle.”

Scott went on to write that how a candidate is registered party-wise tells voters about their beliefs related to that political party.

Scott said Monday that last fall there were rumors that Buzzard was going to switch parties. She asked Buzzard directly if these rumors were true and he told her no, she said.

“He assured me at that time that he would never do that,” Scott said, adding Buzzard comes from a long line of Democrats.

Scott said she may be just “old fashioned,” but she believes in loyalty and for Buzzard to switch parties in the middle of a term does not reflect that.