As part of Mountain State Spotlight’s Citizens Agenda approach to covering this year’s elections, we visited all 55 counties and asked West Virginians what challenges they would like to see public officials and candidates face. We learned that the most vital issues include substance employ disorders, the economy, failing infrastructure, and financial problems.
Democratic candidate Glenn Elliott, who served two terms as mayor of Wheeling and is running for a U.S. Senate seat, submitted his responses by completing the survey. Two-term GOP candidate Gov. Jim Justice did not respond to the survey but agreed to an impromptu interview after the event.
These responses have been lightly edited for clarity.
Nearly four people a day die from drug overdoses. What will you do in the Senate to get West Virginians out of this crisis?
Elliott: We must take a comprehensive approach to solving the addiction crisis. Too often our approach is to focus on the supply side of drugs and employ law enforcement to target those who deal drugs in our communities. Of course, we need a tough approach to the drug trade, but the lessons of the Prohibition era remain relevant today: as long as there is a high demand for a product in a community, there will always be those willing to accept the risks involved in supplying it. Therefore, first of all, we must intensify our efforts to reduce the demand for drugs. This involves investing in early education and child care programs. This involves providing our communities with opportunities that are attractive to our youth. This involves having a comprehensive menu of rehabilitation options for drug addicts. It also involves using the drug court system to ensure that non-violent drug offenders can start over with a pristine record.
Justice: Well, the first thing we need to do is strengthen the border, right? I mean, really and honestly, all the people who just flood us. One day, I don’t want to go into this because we don’t have all the time in the world, but I was driving through the Arby’s and suddenly this car in front of me, I saw, I had this cross on the back window. It was 1993-2023, Amber was 30 and I’m sure they lost a baby.
Well, I just sat there and said a massive prayer for Amber and the family. Then I drove up to the window and started paying. I ordered for Babydog, myself and the soldier. It cost about 34 bucks and the car just started right up. They paid for my food. It just rips your heart out. So I sent a soldier to find them and they finally found out who it was. Lo and behold, Amber played basketball for me and lost herself from a fentanyl overdose.
This has happened many times in this state. The first thing we need to do is stop this flow of drugs. It’s coming here from every direction known to man. But right behind all of that, we have to continue to work on things like Work and Hope and all the other things that we’ve done where first the treatment and then the real life training is basically bringing people back and everything.
Context: According to the Cato Institute, the enormous majority of fentanyl flowing across the border into the United States is smuggled by U.S. citizens traveling through legal ports of entry.
The Governor’s Jobs and Hope initiative helps connect people in recovery, expunge criminal records and find employment opportunities. It is known that a criminal history is a barrier to employment, and employment can support further economic recovery.
West Virginia continues a major economic transformation as the coal industry declines. Meanwhile, the federal government is pouring money into renewable energy sources like wind and solar that create good-paying jobs. As a member of Congress, how will you ensure West Virginians participate in and benefit from the transition to a novel energy economy?
Elliott: For much of the last century, West Virginia has paid a significant price to extract coal to provide energy for the rest of the country – especially in terms of loss of life and damage from mining-related injuries and illnesses. Looking to the future, we cannot deny the global energy transformation that has already begun and will continue. At the same time, it is absolutely vital that West Virginians have a seat at the table in any discussions regarding our nation’s overarching energy policy. If elected to the United States Senate, I would seek nomination to the Energy and Natural Resources Committee. I would do everything in my power to ensure that West Virginia is united in its past sacrifices in energy production through incentives and initiatives to diversify our energy portfolio and retrain our current workforce for future energy careers .
Justice: I assure you that I will not turn away from coal and I will not turn away from gas or oil, because anyone who believes that today it is possible to do without fossil fuels is living in a cave. I used all energy sources, all alternatives. Just look at Form Energy or Nucor, or look at the green bus or whatever. I accepted them all because I believe we need a comprehensive energy strategy. There may come a day when we will no longer need fossil fuels. But not today.
Hopefully I’m on the Energy Committee and then I would really hope that people would really listen to me because I have a lot of experience in energy. Look, energy powers every single thing we have. Energy is the cause of all inflation problems. Energy for any country in the world, the more energy you have, the healthier people are and the longer they live. OK, for any country in the world. We absolutely must have an energy policy. We do not have a national energy policy that can stimulate the economy and facilitate reduce this terrible deficit we have. It could do so many things. We have no energy policy. How stupid can this be?
Context: West Virginia has received federal support for pristine energy projects, but the effort is hampered by state-level politics, a lack of people with the right skills, and the state is not geographically ideal for solar or wind projects.
Thousands of West Virginians do not have access to pristine drinking water, safe and sound roads and bridges, internet access or affordable housing. What will you do in Congress to address these wide-ranging infrastructure challenges?
Elliott: The campaign’s tour of all 55 West Virginia counties only confirmed how many areas of our state still need significant infrastructure improvements. In the coming years, I would support further congressional efforts, such as the bipartisan Infrastructure Act of 2021. However, I would also explore further opportunities, following the example of the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA), which directed federal resources directly to cities and counties to make their own infrastructure investments. When I was mayor of Wheeling, we found that direct allocation of ARPA funds gave us the flexibility to address some persistent infrastructure problems much more effectively than established forms of federal grants.
Governor of Justice he ended the impromptu interview by saying he had to go to a meeting before the question could be asked.
