My first personal interaction with the Eastern Panhandle’s former Delegate S. Marshall Wilson came when I made my pre-election predictions for all state legislative races a few years back.
When he called that Saturday, he didn’t voice any concern that I had predicted he’d lose. No, he was perturbed that I accidentally called him a Democrat when he was a Republican incumbent at the time. In 117 contests, I had to make my lone typo in his contest.
“Perturbed” is not really adequate to describe his condition upon seeing my column in the online edition of the (Huntington) Herald-Dispatch at 7 a.m. that day. Actually he was livid.
While we had not even been formally introduced at the legislature or elsewhere, he managed eventually to accuse me of scheming with his political enemies to leave the impression that he was not a good Republican. At that time, I knew only that Wilson was universally disliked by his fellow legislators in the back hallways of the capitol. I was definitely not linked in a conspiracy with his political enemies.
His fellow Republicans liked him little better than Democrats despite the fact that he was clearly a conservative.
That day he kept ranting on about needing an immediate correction. I responded that it was Saturday; the editor would not be available; the print edition was already circulated; so we would make the correction Monday. That was still a day before the election.
That was not satisfactory to him. He wanted the correction NOW before it cost him hundreds of votes Tuesday.
It did no good, either, for me to point out that the column was then running exclusively in The Herald-Dispatch. I even mentioned that we MIGHT have as many as three readers who lived in his House district. My impact was being exaggerated.
He demanded the editor’s home number, which I didn’t have — and wouldn’t have given to him if I did.
The conversation finally ended when he hung up. But not before I said I was “not inclined” to make the correction until Monday about 10 times. He either misheard or wanted to use my words to say I was “not inclined” to do a correction at all. Over the intervening four years, he’s embellished his story to say that I told him I’m “not ever inclined” to issue corrections — even when I’m factually wrong. That’s an interesting little concept for a reporter to hold onto.
Wilson managed to reach upper management quickly without my help. They seemed of the same opinion as I: correction on Monday. But he persisted.
Voters were falling off his re-election bandwagon from one end of the district to the other as a result of my column goof-up.
So I wrote a correction, got it to the editor and we published it online. In many cases, that would be the end of it. I’ve learned nothing ever ends with S. Marshall Wilson, though. Every time I mention some voting information manipulation he is currently peddling, he begins ranting about me “lying” about him being a Democrat in 2018. That the “lie” was a simple typo means nothing to him.
Which brings us to his latest shell-game shenanigans with the “Independent Party of WV.”
Summarizing what Wilson is up to is always difficult. I describe him as a modern-day Elmer Gantry. Like the movie’s faith-healing minister, Wilson requires leaps of faith from his disciples. One plus one does not necessarily equal two in Wilson’s church math class.
His latest incarnation was as a 2020 write-in candidate for governor. He became a “write-in independent” for the top job when he and his disciples could not gather enough signatures to get on the ballot.
In the November 2020 election, he received enough votes that if he had announced as a proposed party candidate and followed proper procedures, he could have gained ballot access for his new party for future elections. But he didn’t do that.
Why? Because Wilson expects everyone else to steadfastly abide by every “I” and “t” of the law. Everyone, that is, except him.
Attorney General Patrick Morrisey called the fibs out on Wilson’s latest Elmer Gantry shenanigans months ago. The AG summarized a three-page letter to the Secretary of State simply:
‘There appears to be no evidence that a group of voters affiliated with a principle or organization chose the write-in candidate (Wilson) as their candidate for Governor in the 2020 General Election. It is not enough that the individual in question filed a certificate of announcement as a write-in candidate and received over 1% of the votes cast for Governor.
In other words, a ‘party’ that did not exist before the election cannot be recognized after an individual candidate performs well on Election Day. Instead, Section 3-1-8 reflects the notion that a political party is bigger than any one candidate.”
But not much is bigger than Wilson and his ego. Being an Elmer Gantry-style preacher-politician brings out the huckster syndrome in Wilson every time.
He has his disciples attack me as a “liar” on social media while he insists the Independent Party of West Virginia is a legitimate political party. They add insults, with one even telling me I “know nothing about politics.” She claims to be an Independent Party committee member.
Others insisted their County Clerks require them to make it clear whether they are Independent Party of WV members by whether they capitalize the “I.” I talked to county voter registrars in three Eastern Panhandle counties. They thought the capitalization fib was funny.
In the Secretary of State’s office, I was told that an individual registers as they wish. “If they want to register with the Mickey Mouse Party, it’s up to them. If they wish to use a big ‘I’ or little ‘I’ it’s their call. No election official is ever calling someone in and saying, ‘are you a big or little ‘i’ independent?'”
Like his model Gantry, Wilson is a slick talker who inaccurately quotes the laws (and scriptures) he lives by.
He even held a “convention” of the Independent Party in the spring. Obviously he WANTS to be associated with SOME political party. At this point, it’s pretty clear that he isn’t.
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I’ll have a story this week with new information about Republican State Chair Mark Harris and his former job at the Beckley Veterans Administration Medical Center.
How he worked his way to the top is a fascinating story.
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I’m convinced that legislative leadership already knows how redistricting will look despite not having final Census data.
One strong rumor has Boone County Democrat State Senator Ron Stollings potentially pitted against Republican Senator Mark Maynard. The story is that more of Maynard’s Wayne County territory will be in the new district with less of Stollings’ base as Republicans move to firm pup their hold on the upper chamber.
This redistricting would give us a chance to see how unified Wayne Republicans are after the pitched battle they waged to fill a vacant House of Delegates position.
A prevalent rumor then insisted that Maynard orchestrated the snubbing of the county Executive Committee’s role in favor of the state Executive committee taking control. That left a bad taste in some mouths. We’ll soon see if the GOP taste buds are still offended at Maynard enough for prominent Wayne County Republicans to back the moderate Stollings.
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Can anyone imagine Joe Manchin or Arch A. Moore, Jr. applying for a high school coaching job while Governor much less filing a grievance if he didn’t get it?
Most governors find their time consumed by affairs of state with virtually no “free” time.
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Speaking of Morrisey, doing his job creates enemies. Every time he issues an opinion — as he did with the Independent Party of WV — he makes one side unhappy.
This Attorney General has not shied away from doing his job.
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The tragic passing of Charleston City Councilman John Kennedy Bailey in a freak automobile-tree accident last week brought back memories of former State Treasurer Larrie Bailey, the councilman’s father.
Larrie Bailey continues to reside in the Fairmont area.
The senior Bailey served as state treasurer when winning the Democrat primary was another way of saying the general election was in the bag.
Despite a successful run and the power of incumbency, most political observers knew Bailey’s run as Treasurer was over when then-Secretary of State A. James Manchin filed for Treasurer in 1984. By then, Bailey had served as Treasurer since 1976, having replaced appointed Republican Ronald Pearson.
While Bailey was quietly and efficiently doing his job, Manchin was … flamboyant. His rhetoric as state REAP Director paved the beginning of a successful statewide career. His subsequent election as Secretary of State made him a household word.
Anyone would have been overwhelmed by Manchin in that decade and Bailey was no exception.
So Manchin won in a landslide, as all expected.
He then ran into legal problems that short-circuited his career and led, in 1990, to Bailey’s return for six more years as Treasurer.
John Perdue’s 25-year run ended Bailey’s statehouse service in 1996.
The freak accident that claimed the life of Councilman Bailey cast a dark shadow over City Hall and all of the capital city last week.
Law enforcement said a tree fell on his car traveling on Greenbrier Street. Officers said a juvenile passenger — said by friends to be his son — escaped the vehicle but Bailey himself passed away.
He was remembered fondly by friends and associates. Mayor Amy Shuler Goodwin had this to say about the Charleston lawyer:
“It is with profound sadness we mourn the loss of Charleston City Councilman John Kennedy Bailey—a devoted husband, doting father, loving son, loyal brother, and a dear friend to many including my husband (former U.S. Attorney Booth Goodwin) and me. I spent many a night talking with John in the City Hall parking garage long after council meetings had ended. We’d talk about how we could fix things—make things better. He was funny and fun. He was relaxed but motivated. He was someone you wanted on your team, and we loved him so very much.”
While I knew Councilman Bailey just in passing, I know he came from good stock in the Bailey family. Sincere condolences to family and friends. Charleston lost a good man.
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Although Republicans control a supermajority in the legislature and will be inclined to gerrymander redistricting to their own advantage, that won’t always work out.
Logan Republican Delegate Margitta Mazzocchi and Lincoln County Republican Zack Maynard are likely to be pitted against each other in their new single-member district.
Currently, Maynard represents the 22nd District while Mazzocchi serves the 24th. As such, each is one of two representing their districts.
Maynard will be the overwhelming re-election favorite if he and Mazzocchi face off in a 2022 primary.
Ron Gregory is a regular political columnist and reporter for lootpress.com. Contact him at 304-533-5185; ronjgregory@gmail.com; or P.O. Box 20297, Charleston, WV 25362. Confidentiality is assured.