FAIRMONT —
On June 29, 2010, West Virginia didn’t just lose its longest-serving, most-dedicated public servant with the death of U.S. Sen. Robert C. Byrd.
The state lost its sense of political stability.
For the past 14 months, the state has dealt with a virtual tsunami of politics: legal decisions about whether special elections were required to fill Byrd’s seat; election law modifications; a special primary and general election for the Senate seat; the need to replace then-Gov., now-U.S. Sen. Joe Manchin with state Senate President Earl Ray Tomblin; a Supreme Court decision requiring a special election for the governor’s seat; a special primary election, which nearly divided the Democratic party; and four months (and as many millions of dollars) worth of heavy campaigning; and finally, a special general election held this week.
The end result after 14 months of turmoil is a 14-month term for Gov.-elect Tomblin.
But it’s not over. There’s about two months before the 2012 primary race for governor begins in earnest, with Tomblin already expressing his intentions to run again with his first statewide race behind him and a slim 2 percent victory over his Republican challenger Bill Maloney in Tuesday special election.
By the time the holidays are over, West Virginia’s “election-free” holiday will be over, too.
And 2012 looks to be a very heated election year, from local races to national ones.
Through 14 months of political turmoil, West Virginia has somehow carried on, without being forced to make cuts to public services, education or other essential departments in the state. In fact, while most states are facing budget deficits, the Mountain State can actually boasts a $300 million surplus.
We hope that even though the 2012 election cycle looms over us, our state can continue to move forward.
2012 will have a race for two seats on the state Supreme Court, a U.S Senate seat, all three congressional district seats, the governor, the secretary of state, the auditor, the state treasurer, attorney general, and agriculture commissioner. In Marion County, we will have three House of Delegates seats up for grabs, a state Senate seat, circuit judge, all four magistrates, the prosecuting attorney, the sheriff, the assessor, a commission seat, and nonpartisan seats on the board of education and Fairmont City Council.
We hope that on the national, state and local level, 2012 will be defined by parties working together toward what’s in the best interests of their constituents, rather than focusing on the elections.
We hope that the national parties and national special interest groups stay out of the 2012 elections, instead of adding fuel to the fire of mud slinging and smear campaigns.
We hope that voters will not be swayed by negative campaigning, but vote for the best candidate on his or her own merits.
We hope that candidates and their camps not only follow the election laws of the state, but play fair.
And at the end of May’s primary election and again in November, we hope we can sit back and reflect on what a great election cycle it has been, what strong candidates ran, and look to 2013 with a sense of hope, that the right people have been put into office by the power given to all of us at the ballot box.
We the people deserve nothing less.
Opinion
West Virginia has fared well though 14 months of political turmoil
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Bill Stewart was indeed ‘special person’ as coach and off the field
