Marshall County Commissioner Scott Varner

The retirement of Scott Varner from political life — he has decided not to run for reelection for Marshall County Commission — came in part from a promise he made to his father Terry.

Shortly before Terry Varner died in 2024, he told his son how proud he was of him for decades of public service as an elected official. But he also asked him not to run again.

“He said, ‘Go enjoy what life you have. You’ve done a lot,'” Scott Varner said.

So Varner will honor his late father’s wishes, which, when his commission term ends, will conclude 32 years as an elected official out of Marshall County — 20 with the West Virginia House of Delegates and 12 with the county commission.

“Clearly, it makes you feel good that you try to make things a little better,” he said. “Collectively, with a lot of great people, we’ve been able to move things forward.”

In two decades as a Democrat serving in the West Virginia House’s 4th District, from 1993-2013, he spent 10 of those years as the House Majority Whip, a key member of legislative leadership who organizes votes and makes sure party members attend and cast their votes.

In 2014, Varner was elected to the Marshall County Commission and has served ever since, being named commission president this year.

During his time on the commission, he has enjoyed looking at ways to help his neighbors from a micro view, compared to the macro view of the House of Delegates. On the commission, he could make sure that Marshall County residents always were taken care of.

“Infrastructure has always been huge with me,” he said. “Water, sewer and other types of infrastructure. They’re not flashy, but they’re long-term improvements. I’ll be dead and gone and they’ll still benefit people.”

There are many people Varner wanted to thank for their help during his career in public service. He mentioned the late former House Speaker Bob Kiss, the people of Marshall County for returning him to office so many times, and especially his family — wife Suzanne and children Shayna and Stefan. The life of an elected official isn’t always easy, especially for the family of those elected officials. Their support, he said, was the reason he was able to work as long as he has serving Marshall County.

And now he’ll be able to spend more time with his family, something he’s very much looking forward to.

“I do want to do things with my family,” he said. “I want to travel and see parts of the country you always read about. I can do those things now and not have to worry about being gone.”