Even though the filing period for the 2022 elections is more than six months away, some prospective candidates are already announcing their plans.
For example, Harrison County Republican Delegate Ben Queen filed pre-candidacy papers last week. In doing so, he said he won’t be running for re-election but will instead be seeking a State Senate seat.
Queen is now one of four GOP delegates representing House District 48. His comments announcing his filing indicate he plans to run for the Senate seat now held by Democrat Mike Romano. That’s District 12.
It may well be that Queen does, in fact, run for the Senate against Romano. Clearly that’s his intent. But what about legislative redistricting that is mandated BEFORE the next election?
Unless, as I’ve suggested, the Republican leadership has already drawn new district lines and intends to implement them exactly later this year, how does Queen know he’ll be in the same senate district with Romano in 2022?
Even if Romano and Queen were next door neighbors (which they aren’t), the Republican couldn’t guarantee at this point that he and Romano will reside in the same district. Of course there’s always the possibility, however unlikely, that Romano won’t run himself.
Hypothetically, District 12 could end up somewhere else in the state entirely.
This isn’t a criticism of Queen. He’s into his third House term, having been first elected at age 20. Clearly, he’s an up-and-coming star.
I fully understand that Queen has no choice but to claim he’s running in Senate District 12. Others have pre-filed in similar situations. I only mention him because he filed last week and because he made it clear whose seat he’s running for — Romano’s.
A race between those two would be fascinating and the odds still are that it is the match-up we’ll see. But maybe not in District 12.
Candidates must file pre-candidacy papers to legally raise money. So those like Queen file early to get the fundraising started. It makes sense. But the confusion regarding new districts remains despite media accounts that ignore the upcoming changes.
Every story I saw on Queen’s candidacy just offered the foregone conclusion that he and Romano will tangle at the ballot box. That’s not necessarily true.
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There’s also an interesting court ruling when it comes to candidate residency in a newly-created district. It’s pretty complex so we’ll delve into it later.
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Is it a conflict of interest for a county commissioner who is a lawyer to represent clients who are suing a county government unit whose funding comes through the county commission?
As Harvey Peyton (“Ask THE Expert”) regularly reminded me during the Lincoln County absentee ballot fiasco, I’m not a lawyer. So, from a legal standpoint, I know not the answer to my question.
What I do know is Kanawha County Commissioner and Charleston lawyer Ben Salango suing the Kanawha School Board doesn’t look pretty and it doesn’t smell good.
To be fair, Salango is likely on the side of the angels in this case. That didn’t stop several readers from wondering if his representation is a conflict of interest. As noted, I really don’t know.
Salango and attorney Mike Cary represent the families of all four special needs children who were in the classroom where alleged abuse happened at Horace Mann Middle School.
Charleston Police filed battery charges against teacher Anthony Wilson, 45, of Beckley, and aides Walter Pannell, 51, of Charleston, and Lillian Branham, 65, of Beckley, Criminal complaints allege the non-verbal students were grabbed, pushed and abused verbally. The charges are misdemeanors.
“The abuse is appalling. Watching the videos you see what these kids are going through and when they go home they can’t tell their parents,” Salango said. “They didn’t want to get on the school bus, they didn’t want to go back to school and the parents didn’t know they were being physically abused.”
It’s a disgustingly horrible situation and the children and their parents need their rights upheld. But, even if only ministerial, the county commission receives tax money, some of which it passes on to the board of education.
It may not be a conflict but it’s doubtful the Salango filing fosters improved relations between the county commission and board of education.
As a lawyer in private practice, Salango has a right to make money and represent who he chooses. However, this may be a case the county commissioner should have passed on.
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Charleston’s Fred Joseph, who vowed to fight the City of Charleston when officials ordered his patriotic yard sign removed, was released after a couple of days in the hospital last week.
Joseph is a staunchly patriotic American and retired military veteran. He firmly believes he put on the USA uniform to protect free speech.
I totally agree. The city will find a worthy adversary in Joseph. His sign was still in place this weekend.
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With the wave of a pen, House Republicans were apparently capable of doing what was impossible just weeks ago.
The announcement came in time for legislative interims as well as the extraordinary session Governor Jim Justice called for tomorrow (Monday). They declared the House chambers open for public access.
What, exactly, that means is about as clear as the scientific evidence that masks prevent Covid-19. Nobody knew for sure during the past 15 months what all the pandemic mandates required and “opening” the House to the public may be even more vague.
Does the new order mean no more reporting to capitol police why one wants inside the building? If the rule applies just to the House, is the Senate still restricted?
All we can do is see how officials handle the new directive. It is odd that House leadership apparently decided they could do in a simple press release what they were unable to do for more than a year in any way, form or fashion.
More than one in House leadership pointed out to me during the regular session that they “couldn’t” mandate the opening of the House chamber unilaterally since one had to pass police at the main doors downstairs following Justice’s closure mandates.
Evidently that changed overnight. Maybe the House discovered an entrance to their location that no longer requires passing through the first floor. I’ll see tomorrow, I guess.
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Nearly every financial expert I know predicts a dire personal future for the Justice family given the news of recent weeks.
Once tabbed as the state’s richest man, the Governor personally teeters on the edge of bankruptcy, experts agree. It’s fairly obvious the family no longer makes the Ewings of “Dallas” fame look like street bums.
Discerning readers have voiced concern that the biggest loser in the potential collapse of the Justice Empire could be the Greenbrier Resort.
While touting his financial management skills to voters, The Greenbrier has been Justice’s biggest star. It is the crown jewel of the state’s growing tourist industry.
“The Greenbrier could go in a bankruptcy fire sale,” one tax accountant told me. “It could end up being a Red Roof Inn.”
What a sad state of affairs. If Justice loses the grand Old South resort for the state, THAT will be his legacy. And a sad one, indeed.
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In a lighter vein, the same accountant suggested dire circumstances for the Governor’s well-known pet dog.
“Let’s start a gofundme. Justice is gonna have to sell BabyDog to pay his debts. Gofundme to save BabyDog,” he suggested.
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The 2020 Libertarian candidate for governor, Erika Kolenich, is as mystified as the rest of us by Republican patriotic legislative responses to Justice’s pandemic rule by decree the past 15 months.
Actually, the Buckhannon attorney may not be as surprised as some of us naïve folk who actually expected better from a super-majority of alleged patriots.
Kolenich was optimistic when we chatted a week ago, saying state Libertarian registration is growing by leaps and bounds.
My endorsed candidate for governor last year, Kolenich is bright and articulate. She would make an excellent governor. I have mentioned before that, as a member of the Republican party, she too could be a rising star.
But she is devoted to the Libertarian positions and feels the future is bright for that party in the state and nation.
A busy attorney, Kolenich said she may not run again. Her fellow lawyer/husband is on the state Libertarian executive committee and equally committed to Libertarian causes.
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While devastated by the passing of 24-year-old Dawson Isom, the public response has renewed my hope that justice might still arrive in Mingo County.
Putting personal feelings aside, it is simple fact that a then-18-year-old was murdered on a Saturday morning in public in downtown Williamson.
To me, there could be no possible justification for the beating Isom took that day. My friends on social media have shared and re-shared photos of him in the hospital with literally part of his brain missing. Nobody deserved that.
I am convinced Isom did NOTHING at all to deserve the beating he took. He could not have done anything to “deserve” what he got, regardless.
Inept Mingo Prosecutor at the time, Teresa Maynard, bungled the case from day one. While some of her actions could have come from general ignorance and/or stupidity, I don’t think they all did.
It was a case — once again — of an affluent and influential family actually getting away with murder in bloody Mingo. Maynard blew the case and tried to rush through a misdemeanor charge against the assailant that would have netted a pitifully low fine and probation.
The family insisted on withdrawing that charge and Maynard reluctantly agreed. But she and law enforcement did nothing to push the case. In fact, sheriff’s deputies partied in a building owned by the assailant at holiday time.
Voters responded to Maynard’s indifference by beating her with new Prosecutor Duke Jewell. Those same voters expected Jewell to do something. To date, he has not.
But with the sadness and horror attached to Isom’s death comes new hope.
Perhaps now, with this young man having made the ultimate sacrifice, justice can be done. Maybe now Jewell can take this case before a grand jury and demand justice.
The people of Mingo — and America — deserve nothing less.
Ron Gregory is a regular political columnist who covers politics for lootpress.com. Contact him at 304-533-5185 or ronjgregory@gmail.com.