By Greg Jordan
The Register-Herald
BECKLEY — A delegate representing Raleigh County in the West Virginia Legislature submitted a letter of resignation Thursday to the clerk of the WV House of Delegates.
Brandon S. Steele, R-Raleigh, District 42, sent a letter of resignation dated Dec. 18 to Jeffrey Pack, clerk of the House of Delegates. The clerk’s office provided a copy to The Register-Herald.
“Please accept this letter as my official resignation from office representing the 42nd District in the West Virginia House of Delegates effective immediately,” Steele said in his letter.
Steele did not state a reason for resigning. He had served in the House since 2018.
A message from The Register-Herald was left for Steele at his Beckley office. It was not answered.
Delegate Carl Roop, R-Raleigh, 44th District, who is also Raleigh County’s attorney, said Thursday that he had worked with Steele after being elected to the House of Delegates.
“I did,” he said. “And I was very impressed with Brandon’s knowledge of the rules there in the Legislature and his knowledge of the bills and the actual legislative process.”
Raleigh County Commission President Greg Duckworth spoke of Steele’s service to the county while serving in the Legislature.
“I would congratulate him on his future endeavors and I would thank him for his several years of service,” Duckworth said.
By Thursday afternoon, Steele’s place on the Legislature’s House of Delegates roster was listed as vacant.
According to previous reports, Steele’s wife, Brianne Steele, called 911 two days before Christmas in 2024 and said she was concerned about him drunkenly handling assault rifles and screaming at people looking at their neighborhood’s Christmas lights. She told a 911 dispatcher that she was worried that her “extremely agitated and very, very drunk” husband may start shooting and that her children were “terrified.”
Deputies with the Raleigh County Sheriff’s Office arrived at the Steele residence after this 911 call, according to a sheriff’s office report. No arrests were made in connection with the incident, and Steele was not criminally charged.
Brandon Steele said later that rumors spread about the Dec. 23, 2024, incident were “vicious and disheartening,” according to previous reports. He said that police responded when his family had stalking at their home that day, and it was not the first time such an incident had happened over the last six years.
Steele said that police responded to the Dec. 23, 2024, incident, cleared the scene and left, behaving “professionally and appropriately” during their response, according to previous reports. He said that he reported the incident to the Capitol police.
In the sheriff’s office report, Brianne Steele said that she did not observe any vehicles in front of their residence but did see her husband walking in and out of the home with weapons and screaming, according to previous reports. She was advised by officers about how to obtain a mental hygiene order if she chose to do so. She also stated that her husband did not at any time threaten her or her children. She and the children left the home for the night.
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