CHARLESTON – Longtime Kanawha Circuit Judge Tod Kaufman is resigning.
In a letter dated March 8 to Gov. Jim Justice, Kaufman said his resignation is effective at midnight March 31. Kaufman did not list a reason for stepping down. Justice did accept the letter, which also notified state Supreme Court Justice Evan Jenkins and the Public Employee Retirement Board.
"It has been my honor to serve our state and her people as judge to the best of my ability and energy over all of these years," wrote Kaufman, a Charleston native.
Kaufman was appointed to the state Senate in 1982 by former Gov. Jay Rockefeller and was elected in 1984. In 1988, he was elected as a 13th Circuit (Kanawha County) judge. He was re-elected in 1992, 2000, 2008 and 2016. He served as Chief Kanawha Circuit Judge four times in his 32 years on the bench.
The governor's office and the state Judicial Vacancy Advisory Commission will begin the replacement process soon.
Kaufman is married and has three children.
