A leading lawmaker in the Mountain State traveled from Charleston to McMechen this past Wednesday to support the re-election campaign for his colleague and friend, Dr. Mike Maroney.
W.Va. Sen. Craig Blair attended the meet-and-greet held at Jerry’s Bar & Grill in the Marshall County city, and he spoke with more than 100 voters who attended the event. Maroney has served the Second Senatorial District for one term and currently is campaigning to continue his service to those residents for another four years.
“I have very much enjoyed working with Mike over the past four years,” Sen. Blair said. “Mike is one of the best senators that we have in the West Virginia Legislature because he gets it, and he loves to fight for the people in his district.
“He understands how to get things done for his district and for the people of the state of West Virginia,” he insisted. “I want him back. It’s that simple. He is an absolute asset, and that is why it was important for me to be here at this event to support his re-election.”
The Battle Over Greyhound Racing
One issue very important to the economy of the Northern Panhandle has been a topic of conversation in Charleston for the last several years, and that involves live greyhound racing at the Wheeling Island Hotel-Casino-Racetrack.
More than 1,200 residents are employed in the industry at the racetrack and at a plethora of kennels in Ohio, Brooke, and Marshall counties, and Sen. Blair initially supported the initiative.
His opinion on the issue has changed, however, thanks to Sen. Maroney.
“I have voted in the past to eliminate greyhound racing; I admit that, but that time it was vetoed by Gov. Justice when he was still a Democrat,” the senator recalled. “But then I spoke with Mike about it, and he fully explained it to me, and that’s why I am now opposed to it. Mike told me about the real jobs in that industry and what impact it would have had on the economy in the Northern Panhandle.
“It’s an example as to how we really do work as a team in the state Senate, and Mike plays a vital role with that because he listens to everyone in his district and to his colleagues. He goes about his service the way everyone should,, and that’s why I believe the voters should send him back to Charleston,” he said. “My plan is for the Senate to accomplish some great things when we go into the regular session next year, and Mike is a very important part of that process.”
Blair for Senate President?
Mitch Carmichael was defeated in his Republican primary in June, and that means the 34 members of the W.Va. Senate will need to choose a new Senate President.
Could that choice be Sen. Craig Blair?
“I have not asked any of my colleagues for their vote to make me Senate President, but I am interested in that position,” the senator revealed. “Since I was first elected, we have worked very hard to make things better for the people of our state. Hopefully, we’ll be able to get back to work on eliminating the personal property tax for our residents, and that proposal did not include a tax increase of any kind. Mike supported that effort because he understands that that tax is a 13th car payment each year.
“We were planning to shift funds around so that would be possible, and Mike was a big part of that conversation because he is on the Finance Committee with me. It was blocked, though, by the Democrats in the Senate, and that’s how this process works,” he explained. “The people could have had a chance to block it themselves because it would have taken the people’s vote to modify our state Constitution, and we hope to give our residents that chance in the future.”
