MORGANTOWN — Morgantown police searched for Deputy Mayor Mark Brazaitis overnight, concerned about his mental state after an alleged altercation at his home.
City Manager Paul Brake first confirmed around 11:45 p.m. Monday that police were seeking to contact Brazaitis pertaining to a “non-criminal matter.”
Sources said the issue began at the deputy mayor’s residence on Courtney Avenue during an attempt to have him involuntarily committed for mental evaluation.
Brazaitis, an author and English professor at West Virginia University, has discussed his struggles with mental illness, and wrote about the topic in a 2012 collection of short stories, “The Incurables.”
As the search for Brazaitis stretched into the morning, Brake said, “We are concerned about him and his well-being.”
Monday began with Brazaitis announcing plans to take on Democrat incumbent Joe Manchin and Republican Patrick Morrisey as a write-in candidacy for the U.S. Senate.
On Tuesday night, at the City Council’s regularly scheduled meeting, some councilors were expected to seek Brazaitis’s resignation as deputy mayor.
Brazaitis recently went against the council’s wishes by individually pursuing an $8.5 million county-wide levy for a new ice skating rink. After making that request, he called Monongalia County Commission president Tom Bloom dishonest and encouraged the purging of county leadership to install “real Democrats” who are progressives.
Brazaitis repeatedly has attacked his employer, WVU, for entering public-private partnerships, including the $45 million Mylan Park recreational center. Last month he claimed the university was “gutting this town” by taking one-third of Morgantown’s footprint off the tax rolls.
Police referred questions to the city’s communications manager Andrew Stacy, who did not return messages.
