Politics

Secretary of State Warner Announces Start of Early Voting in 2018 Primary

CHARLESTON, W.Va. – Registered voters can now take advantage of early voting at county courthouses and designated satellite precincts across West Virginia this morning.

Early voting for the 2018 primary election opens today and ends Saturday, May 5th. County early voting locations are open during business hours during the week, and open on Saturdays from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Check with your local county clerk for specific weekday times.

“Early voting is a great way to get out there and use your voice,” said Secretary of State Mac Warner. “Early voting gives citizens an easy and convenient way to cast their ballot. Our Elections Division, our county clerks, their staff, and our poll workers stand ready to make it easy to vote and hard to cheat.”

There are 1,227,600 registered voters in West Virginia as of April 17th, the final day to register to vote in the May 8th primary. Of that total, 42.76 percent are registered with the Democratic Party; Republicans make up 32 percent; .17 percent are Mountain Party members; .48 percent are with the Libertarian Party; 21.80 percent are unaffiliated; and 2.79 percent are registered with minor parties (attachment).

This is the first statewide election taking place that will require voters to show a form of identification at the polls. Voters will need to show one of 17 forms of acceptable ID.

The Secretary of State’s Elections Division reminds voters that if they see something at the polls that doesn’t look right, say something. Just call our Election Fraud Tip Line at 1-877-FRAUD-WV to report any suspicious activity.

Voters looking for more information on Voter ID, needing help finding their polling place, or tracking an absentee or provisional ballot can go to GoVoteWV.com.

Attachment: Voter Registration Totals as of April 17, 2018

Link: GoVoteWV.com

April 25, 2018 in Local News, NEWS, Politics

Three Republicans, one pro-union, vie for Armstead’s seat in WV House

By: Phil Kabler, Staff Writer | Posted: April 18, 2018 | Source: WV Gazette-Mail

With House Speaker Tim Armstead, R-Kanawha, stepping down after nearly 20 years in the West Virginia Legislature, the House of Delegates’ 40th District is a wide-open race, with one Democrat and three Republicans vying for the open seat.

While the platforms of two of the Republicans, business owner Dean Jeffries and lawyer Kenneth Tawney, check off several of the traditional GOP boxes — anti-abortion, pro-Second Amendment, less government and lower taxes — the third candidate is a bit unique.

Ron Shamblin, a longtime union crane operator, shares many of the traditional party values, but also objects to the Republican majority’s votes to repeal West Virginina’s prevailing-wage law and to enact the right-to-work law, and supports increasing the severance tax on natural gas to fund state programs.

Shamblin first ran against Armstead in 2016, irate over repeal of prevailing wage and enactment of right to work.

He said repeal of prevailing wage sent a message to construction workers that, “We are not worth what we were being paid.”

Shamblin said he believes measures such as right to work, which he considers anti-union, not only hurt the state, but, ultimately, the Republican Party itself.

“Probably about 60 percent of our union membership are Republicans, and when the Republicans sit there and blast the unions, they’re not realizing they’re blasting their own people,” he said.

While many of the projects Shamblin has worked on in recent years involve natural gas drilling sites, he also supports increasing severance taxes on natural gas, and said he was irritated that legislative leadership would not even consider an increase to fund education and teacher pay.

Shamblin said he believes the booming natural gas industry would hardly notice a small severance tax increase, adding, “When it comes right down to it, this belongs to our state.”

Shamblin faces formidable opposition in the May primary election.

Elkview insurance agent Dean Jeffries bills himself as a “Christian Conservative Republican,” and has endorsements from Armstead and the Kanawha County Republican Executive Committee, which said that, as a small-businessman, Jeffries knows the challenges business owners face in the Mountain State.

“Mr. Jeffries is a vocal supporter of the Second Amendment, right to life, [and] supports limited government and fiscal responsibility,” the endorsement states. “He stood side-by-side to help those who were affected by the 2016 flood.”

Jeffries said the aftermath of the flooding in the Elkview area was one of the reasons he decided to run.

“We’ve watched a lot of people leave since then,” he said. “It’s been kind of an unfortunate opportunity for a lot of people to leave.”

Likewise, he said, it is difficult when his teenage children discuss possibly having to leave the state at some point for job opportunities.

“As a local businessman, as you watch your population decrease, you want to do something about that,” Jeffries said. “I want to do things to bring jobs back to West Virginia.”

Jeffries said he is optimistic going into the primary, particularly with Armstead’s endorsement.

“I’ve known Tim for a while. I’ve worked with him on some things,” Jeffries said. “We feel pretty good about it.”

Lawyer Kenneth Tawney could not be reached for comment, but his campaign website says he wants to use his “experience, skills and conservative values to keep our State moving in a positive direction toward prosperity.”

Tawney’s platform includes promoting economic growth by “lowering the barriers to new businesses,” cutting state government spending, promoting better roads and infrastructure, including expanding high-speed internet access, and “protecting Constitutional rights, including the right to life and right to bear arms.”

Like Jeffries, Tawney worked on flood recovery efforts in 2016, noting, “I am frustrated every time I drive from Big Chimney to Clendenin and see so much that remains to be done. One thing I am confident about is that ‘Elk River Strong’ is not just a cliché. We can and will meet this challenge, and I want to do everything I can as a legislator to provide the resources and the assistance required to rebuild our communities.”

Shamblin, meanwhile, said he believes his 2016 primary race, when he got nearly 25 percent of the vote running against Armstead, bodes well for the May 8 primary, and said he believes mainstream Republicans will not be dissuaded by his pro-union positions.

“I have conservative values,” he said. “I’m a Christian. I’m pro-life. I’m very, very strong Second Amendment pro-gun, but I’m also a 21-year union crane operator. I know the value of labor, and the Republican Party used to know the value of labor, as well.”

The winner of the Republican primary will face Democrat Melissa Riggs Huffman in the general election. Huffman, an Elkview teacher, is running unopposed in the 40th District Democratic Primary.

Reach Phil Kabler at philk@wvgazettemail.com,304-348-1220 or follow @PhilKabler on Twitter.

April 18, 2018 in Local News, NEWS, Politics

Mooney and Warner visit Clay County, listen to local feedback

(Left) Congressman Alex Mooney; (Right) WV Rural Development Director Kris Warner

Posted: April 10, 2018 | Source: Clay County Free Press

US Congressman Alex Mooney visited Clay County on April 6, 2018, to have a roundtable discussion with community members including Fran King, member of the Clay County Commission; Greg Fitzwater, President of the Clay County Commission; Dave Mullins, President of the Board of Education; Jason Hubbard, Town of Clay Mayor; as well as many others in attendance. (more…)

April 10, 2018 in Business News, Local News, NEWS, Politics

Kanawha board cancels construction manager contract for Hoover, Clendenin/Bridge elementary

Kanawha County Board of Education President Jim Crawford listens Monday to plans for closing Bridge Elementary School. Photo by: F. Brian Ferguson, Gazette-Mail

By: Ryan Quinn, Staff Writer | Posted: April 9, 2018 | Source: WV Gazette-Mail

The Kanawha County Board of Education voted unanimously Monday to cancel the contract with the construction management company the West Virginia School Building Authority had assigned to the planned new Herbert Hoover High and consolidated Bridge/Clendenin elementary.

The move, which took place in a five-minute meeting, adds Kanawha to the list of public school systems that have dumped or have moved to dump their construction managers following backlash from schools superintendents and leaders in the school design/construction industry to the SBA’s assigning of these firms.

The SBA has publicly abandoned forcing or urging counties to use the companies. Scott Raines, the SBA’s director of school planning and construction, said in October 2017, under grilling from then-new SBA board Chairman Brian Abraham, that SBA written policy wasn’t followed in the advertisement process for construction management firms.

After that advertisement process, the SBA had assigned two companies, PCS, based in Ohio and West Virginia, and MBP, which is based in Virginia but has offices in multiple states, to public school building projects around West Virginia.

Charles Wilson, the Kanawha school system’s executive director of facilities planning, estimated the cancellation to save roughly $2 million, though he noted that figure is a “moving target.”

Raines has argued in the past that the construction managers ultimately saved money. PCS declined comment Monday.

Wilson said the county will still have to pay PCS roughly half a million dollars for services it has already provided.

“We had a lot of meetings with them and FEMA [the Federal Emergency Management Agency] and the SBA, trying to get things set up,” Wilson said when asked what the roughly $500,000 went to. “They did our preliminary estimates and costs of construction and they also provided preliminary schedules for the duration of those projects.”

If the contract would have continued, Wilson said PCS’ work would’ve included “monitoring the schedules, monitoring the budgets, constructability reviews, dealing with various prime contractors on the job as kind of a go between between us and the contractors.”

He said “clerk of the works” would be hired to oversee construction for each project.

“The architects will provide additional services under their contracts to cover the areas that the construction manager — where we need construction management,” Wilson said.

“After meeting with the architectural firms for each project, we went through the various options and I started looking at some costs, and it became evident that we could find a better project delivery method that would expedite the project and save money,” Wilson said.

PCS got a $1.2 million contract, with the possibility of more money in the future, for work on schools to replace Herbert Hoover High and Clendenin Elementary, which closed after being damaged in the June 2016 flood. FEMA is planned to provide most of the funding for the projects.

Also Monday:

  • No one showed up to speak at the board’s closure hearing for Bridge Elementary, which didn’t close after the flood but is planned to be consolidated with Clendenin Elementary to create the new school. The board must still vote on whether to approve the closure.
  • The board accepted the retirement of Carver Career Center Principal L. Phillip Calvert II, effective June 30, and the retirement of Title I Director Pam Padon, effective Aug. 31. The board also approved transferring Brian Barth from his Hoover art position to an assistant principal position at Nitro High, effective today.

Reach Ryan Quinn at ryan.quinn@wvgazettemail.com, facebook.com/ryanedwinquinn, 304-348-1254 or follow @RyanEQuinn on Twitter.

April 9, 2018 in Education News, Local News, Politics

Armstead takes a bow as Speaker on final night of session

House Speaker Tim Armstead oversees a floor session in the House of Delegates. Photo courtesy: Perry Bennett, West Virginia Legislative Photography

By: Brad McElhinny | Posted: Mar. 10, 2018 at 9:14 p.m. | Source: WV MetroNews

CHARLESTON, W.Va. — House Speaker Tim Armstead, who is not running for re-election, bid farewell to his fellow delegates on the final night of the regular legislative session, speaking emotionally of the honor of having served.

Armstead described first coming to the Capitol for a Golden Horseshoe ceremony and being awed. He then described the honor of having served in the Legislature over the years, including what he described as an unexpected time as Speaker.

His fellow delegates stood to applaud. And Minority Leader Tim Miley, who preceded Armstead as Speaker, asked that his remarks be preserved for posterity.

Armstead is considering a run for the state Supreme Court in 2020. He announced just a couple of weeks into this session that it would be his last.

Armstead, 53, of Elkview became the first Republican Speaker of the House of Delegates in 84 years when the GOP took over that chamber in 2014.

He was first elected to the House in 1998.

Armstead was House minority leader from 2007 to 2014. He spent many of those years pushing for elimination of the food tax. His prop was a can of pork and beans with a penny taped on top. Armstead held it up at a ceremony in 2013 when the food tax was officially eliminated.

Armstead earned his bachelors degree in political science and history from the University of Charleston in 1987. He earned his law degree from West Virginia University College of Law in 1990.

He spent most of his recent career as a lawyer for NiSource Corporate Services Company, starting in 2001. He was working for Columbia Pipeline Group in 2016, but was laid off in September when TransCanada bought the company and eliminated the West Virginia legal division.

His Clendenin home was also flooded during the statewide flooding of 2016.

Many delegates are calling an end to their time in the house, some to run for other offices.

Among those who were recognized on Saturday night was Delegate John Overington, R-Berkeley, who has had the longest continuous service at 34 years.

Brad McElhinny is the statewide correspondent for MetroNews. Brad is a Parkersburg native who spent more than 20 years at the Charleston Daily Mail. You can reach him at brad.mcelhinny@wvmetronews.com and follow him on Twitter @BradMcElhinny.

March 10, 2018 in Local News, NEWS, Politics

Roane County Schools to use spring break as strike makeup days

By: Anna Taylor | Posted: Mar. 10, 2018 | Source: WCHSTV

ROANE COUNTY, W.Va. (WCHS/WVAH) — Roane County is the latest public school district to announce its plans for the nine missed instructional days during a historic statewide work stoppage.

The district’s Board of Education voted to amend its 2017-18 school calendar and approve scheduling April 2-6 as instructional days instead of using them as spring break as they were originally scheduled.

In a news release from the district, officials said the schools will work with families to accommodate prior plans during that week. Parents with children in the school system are encouraged to inquire about requesting educational leave so student absences during April 2-6 will be considered excused.

The last day for Roane County students will now be Friday, May 25.

Putnam and Jackson counties have also announced its spring break days will now be used as instructional days to make up time missed during the work stoppage.

Teachers and school service personnel in all 55 West Virginia counties held a walkout that started Feb. 22 and lasted until March 6.

March 9, 2018 in Education News, Educators, Local News, NEWS, Politics, Students

1,600 food boxes distributed to Fayette County students in need

By: Mike McCullough | Posted: Mar. 6, 2018 at 4:05 p.m. | Source: WV MetroNews

FAYETTEVILLE, W.Va. — Fayette County school buses were full Tuesday, but not with students.

Instead 1,600 food boxes and hundreds of milk cartons lined the seats to be delivered to students in need across the county. This is the third time a group of volunteers comprised of teachers, principals and bus drivers have gotten together to complete the mission referred as the “bus brigade”.

Organizer Cindy Chamberlin of Clay County explained it was an effort started by her friend in another state the day before the teacher and school service personnel strike began. Several calls and a drive in a box truck later, the food boxes made their way to West Virginia.

“I got a phone call from a friend who does disaster relief in Tennessee and her church was getting overage FEMA freight from Texas and Florida that was going to be destroyed because they no longer needed it. So her church had paid to have it brought to Tennessee, the Nolachucky Baptist Association. We just had to cover the freight charge to get it here.”

Chamberlin said 9,000 meals were brought to West Virginia total. Several were sent to Clay County while the rest came to Fayette County with the help of Mountaineer Food Bank near Flatwoods. Last Thursday organizers held a meeting and were able to raise $1,000 to help get the food boxes from Tennessee. Since then more donations have come in both locally and from afar.

“Our little community has come together and its just touched my heart,” said Fayette County technology teacher and volunteer Melinda Louisos. “However, we’ve had donations from California, Florida, from Alaska. So our little community has stretched out worldwide actually.”

Retired teacher Marion Tanner said Tuesday this show of support has been encouraging. She was one of many wearing red in support of West Virginia educators and school personnel.

“We’ve had a tremendous outpouring of love from our community and the support they have given us to purchase this food. The teachers and the bus drivers come out and deliver this food to the kids’ homes.”

As volunteers loaded the food boxes onto busses at the Fayette County Bus Garage, the energy was high among many. At the time of the event, the house had approved the 5% pay raise bill for all state workers. While it still had to go through the senate and get a signature from Gov. Jim Justice, many were optimistic they would be returning to school tomorrow.

Volunteers agreed the return to the classroom can make a huge difference for students whose only meal daily comes from school. Fayette County also does a backpack program to provide students in need with meals for weekends.

“Everytime it’s inspiring to see people that come out to help sort out the food,” said Tanner. “We make snack packs and we give every child a box that has three meals in it.”

Mike McCullough can be reached at mike.mccullough@wvradio.com. Follow Mike on Twitter @MikeMcC_Metro. Mike joined MetroNews in July of 2017 as news director and anchor for WJLS: The Voice of Beckley.

March 6, 2018 in Education News, Educators, Local News, NEWS, Politics, Students