Northfork, WV is a small town located in the Appalachian Mountains that prides itself on being community-oriented. It has a rich history and culture, and local politics play an integral role in the daily life of the citizens. The current mayor is Donald Gatz, who has held office for two consecutive terms and plans to run again for his final term this coming May. The Town Council consists of seven members elected by the people of Northfork every four years. The Council's primary responsibility is to review municipal ordinances and provide guidance on local issues such as budgeting, taxes, safety, housing, health care, and education. The Mayor also works with departments such as Public Works, Fire & Rescue Services, Planning & Zoning Commission, Police Department and Community Development to ensure that all necessary services are provided to the citizens of Northfork. In order to ensure transparency and accountability amongst local government officials, regular town meetings are held throughout the year where residents can voice their concerns or opinions about various issues affecting the town directly or indirectly.
The political climate in Northfork, WV is moderately conservative.
McDowell County, WV is very conservative. In McDowell County, WV 20.4% of the people voted Democrat in the last presidential election, 78.9% voted for the Republican Party, and the remaining 0.7% voted Independent.
In the last Presidential election, McDowell county remained overwhelmingly Republican, 78.9% to 20.4%.
McDowell county voted Republican in three most recent Presidential elections, after voting Democratic in the previous three.
The BestPlaces liberal/conservative index
Northfork, WV is moderately conservative.
McDowell County, West Virginia is very conservative.
West Virginia is very conservative.
The BestPlaces liberal/conservative index is based on recent voting in national elections, federal campaign contributions by local residents, and consumer personality profiles.
VoteWord™
Displaying 20 years of Presidential voting, visualized in one word.
Northfork, West Virginia: D D d R R R
How It Works:
Here at BestPlaces, we were looking at the voting patterns since the 2000 election and realized that we could express the results of each election as one letter. R if the Republican Party candidate won, D if the Democratic Party candidate won and I if the Independent Party candidate won. The six elections (2000, 2004, 2008, 2012, 2016, 2020) would be expressed as six-letter word (R R D R R).
Then we went a little further and added the dimension of magnitude. If the difference of victory was greater than 10 percent, the letter is upper case, and lower case if the difference was less than 10 percent. This allows us to see interesting voting patterns at just a glance.
Here's the VoteWord for Iowa d r d d r. In the last six elections the state has been closely contested, voting narrowly for the Republican Party candidate in 2016 and 2020 after voting for the Democratic Party in 2008 and 2012. Virginia (r r d d d D) has voted for the Democratic Party in the last three elections.
Individual Campaign Contributions in Northfork, WV
In the last 4 years (2018-2021), there were 0 contributions totaling $0 to the Democratic Party and liberal campaigns, averaging $0 per contribution.
In the last 4 years, there were 0 contributions totaling $0 to the Republican Party and conservative campaigns, averaging $0 per contribution.
(source: Federal Election Commission)