Charges dropped after radiologist senator briefly faces arrest warrant over campaign yard signs
A radiologist and incumbent West Virginia state senator briefly faced misdemeanor charges last week after failing to specify his academic degree on yard signs.
Authorities first issued an arrest warrant for Sen. Mike Maroney, R-Marshall, on Oct. 26, citing a little known and seldom used law. He was charged with four misdemeanors counts for “unlawful use of the prefix ‘Doctor’ or ‘Dr.’ penalty,” the Inter-Mountain newspaper reported Friday.
Under West Virginia’s Code 61-10-21, it is unlawful for any individual to use the prefix in a campaign sign, letter, business card or ad without “affixing thereto suitable words or letters designating the degree which he holds,” the outlet noted. Moroney received paperwork two days later from the Pleasants County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office, saying the charges had been dismissed without prejudice.
The Glen Dale resident and specialist in neuroradiology blamed his challenger’s supporters for the incident, according to the report. Meanwhile, Democrat and high school teacher Josh Gary’s campaign did not respond to a request for comment from the newspaper.
“My opponent and his people have reached an all-time low in West Virginia politics, beneath scum,” Maroney said, according to the Inter-Mountain.
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Marty Stempniak has covered healthcare since 2012, with his byline appearing in the American Hospital Association's member magazine, Modern Healthcare and McKnight's. Prior to that, he wrote about village government and local business for his hometown newspaper in Oak Park, Illinois. He won a Peter Lisagor and Gold EXCEL awards in 2017 for his coverage of the opioid epidemic.