John Mandt Jr.
HUNTINGTON – A Cabell County Commissioner named in an age discrimination lawsuit by a former county official has taken to Facebook to comment on the case.
Commissioner John Mandt Jr. shared a link to a September 9 story from The West Virginia Record about the complaint filed by former Cabell County Emergency Medical Services director Gordon Merry on both his government Facebook page and personal Facebook page.
“The Cabell County Commission generally does not comment on pending litigation,” Mandt wrote on the post. “However, after reviewing the complaint, the commission is confident that the evidence will establish the facts surrounding the plaintiff’s employment, and subsequent retirements will demonstrate that the allegations against the commission are unfounded.
“The commission intends to vigorously defend this lawsuit and is confident that, once the facts are fully developed through discovery and presented in court, the claims against the county commission will be shown to be without merit.”
His post concluded with a few hashtags: #mandt4cabellcounty #workinghardforyou #cabellcountywv #ElectionSeason. On the government page post, he also commented with a meme that says, “You’re a villain in someone’s story because you held them accountable. And that’s OK.”
Merry
Amos “Gordon” Merry III filed his complaint September 1 in Cabell Circuit Court. The Cabell County Commission, Cabell County Emergency Medical Services and Mandt are the named defendants.
Merry worked for the county for more than 50 years, most recently as director of Cabell County Emergency Medical Services. He alleges he was forced to retire because of his age. In the complaint, Merry says performed his work satisfactorily and met the defendants’ reasonable expectations.
In the lawsuit, Merry says Mandt repeatedly asked him when he planned to retire after taking office as a county commissioner in December 2022. The complaint also alleges Stuart Swope, the husband of EMS employee Veronica Swope who hired in January 2025, repeatedly asked Merry about retirement.
Merry told commissioners in early 2025 the earliest he might retire would be after his son completed nursing school, which Merry expected to occur in late 2026, according to the complaint.
The lawsuit says the commission fired CCEMS Assistant Director Steve Murray on April 17, 2025, and directed Merry that same day to fire or obtain the resignation of his secretary, Margie Blankenship. Blankenship subsequently resigned, the complaint states.
A week later, on April 24, 2025, the commission promoted Veronica Swope to interim assistant director of CCEMS, according to the filing.
Merry says he met with Mandt and the two other county commissioners on May 8, 2025. During that meeting, the complaint says, county officials told Merry his employment with CCEMS would end that month and instructed him to attend the opening of a new EMS station, attend a county picnic and submit a retirement letter effective May 23.
Merry submitted a retirement letter with that effective date, according to the lawsuit. Veronica Swope later was named the new Cabell EMS director.
Merry’s complaint characterizes the events as a termination or constructive discharge, which means he alleges working conditions or the defendants’ actions effectively compelled him to leave.
Merry claims the stated reasons for the action were pretextual and that the county would not have taken the action but for his age.
The lawsuit alleges violations of the West Virginia Human Rights Act and claims Mandt aided, abetted, incited or compelled the alleged discriminatory conduct. It further alleges Mandt acted as an agent of both the county commission and CCEMS, and that each entity ratified the other’s actions.
“Mandt made the decision and/or participated in the decision to terminate and/or constructively discharge plaintiff’s employment, he was acting within the scope of his employment as an agent of defendant CCEMS,” the complaint states. “Defendant Mandt knew or should have known that the decision to termination and/or constructively discharge plaintiff’s employment on the basis of his age – in whole or in part – constituted violation(s) of the law.
“Nevertheless, defendant Mandt gave substantial assistance and encouragement to the illegal conduct of defendant CCC and defendant CCEMS.”
Mandt is longtime owner of Stewart’s Original Hot Dogs and a former West Virginia House delegate. He drew statewide attention during his legislative tenure over social media remarks concerning gay people and Muslims.
In 2020, he resigned from the House during his re-election campaign after screenshots emerged of a Facebook Messenger exchange containing an anti-gay slur. He later resumed his campaign and won re-election. The previous year, he had been criticized for a Facebook post about a vigil for victims of the Christchurch, New Zealand, mosque shootings.
Earlier this year, Mandt and the county commission also were at the center of another controversy when 16-year Cabell County 911 dispatcher Caleb Stevens and another employee were fired after he helped rescue an injured fawn.
While saying the commission can’t speak on specific employment matters, Mandt posted an official commission statement on his governmental Facebook page about the personnel actions.
In his complaint, Merry seeks lost wages and benefits, back pay, front pay, pre-judgment interest, attorney fees and court costs. He also seeks damages for alleged humiliation, embarrassment, inconvenience and other noneconomic harm, as well as punitive damages.
The complaint alleges the defendants acted with actual malice or with conscious, reckless and outrageous indifference to Merry’s health, safety and welfare.
Merry is being represented by Paul L. Frampton Jr. of Atkinson & Frampton in Charleston. The case has been assigned to Circuit Judge David Amsbary.
Cabell Circuit Court case number 26-C-410
