“I hate to say it, but Charleston doesn’t know, in a lot of ways, you exist. You’re so far away it’s unbelievable.”
That was the message delivered by Gov. Jim Justice to the people of the Northern Panhandle a little more than a month ago during a stop at Centre Market, and this past Thursday at Independence Hall, he expressed the same when revealing his thoughts on Amendment 2. In fact, in fear he had yet to reach as many as possible, he charged his staff with making even more media connections before Election Day on Tuesday.
During those phone calls, Gov. Justice offered West Virginians his warnings about the difference between promotion and reality, about the future of property taxes, and about what he views as a “power grab.”
Amendment 2 is one of four constitutional amendments up for vote in the Mountain State, and it concerns tax collection on business inventory and personal property such as motor vehicles, ATVs, and motorcycles. The amendment, however, does not include boats, non-roadway vehicles, and airplanes. The amendment has been promoted mostly as a way for West Virginia to rid their finances of the annual “car tax,” but the amendment does not contain the language that guarantees its elimination.
“Now listen, I’m not going to be your governor forever, so while I still am, I gotta take care of my people,” he said Friday from White Sulphur Springs. “Amendment 2 is not good for our state and its people.
“Listen, I’m in so many food fights around this state right now, I really don’t care who throws the mashed potatoes first,” the governor said with a chuckle. “But if I started throwing back my dessert, you know I’m getting serious right there.”
And when it comes to the Northern Panhandle, Gov. Justice also is anxious about our country roads, our opportunities for across-the-board growth, and even about a person trying to ride their bike in downtown Wheeling.
Why have you taken so much time to warn West Virginia residents about your concerns about Amendment 2?
I take it very seriously when the voters of our state give us their confidence, whether it’s been me they’ve voted for or it’s for other lawmakers. That’s why there is no place in my world where I would go out and knowingly deceive or trick the voters. Our people in West Virginia are hardworking people who may not understand all of the details and all of the complexities of these kinds of proposals, but when they hear they can vote for our car tax to go away, what do you think those good people are going to do?
That’s just terrible to me. That’s just terrible, so that’s why I came up with the car tax rebate program that can get rid of your car tax forever. So, to me, your car tax will be gone so that’s no longer an issue.
That’s why I’ve been warning people about Amendment 2. Do we really want to change our Constitution so we can give these lawmakers the power grab that they want? Do we want them to rule our lives and take away local control?
I just see it as a way for them to get all of us upside down and put our counties into really bad shape. And mark this down … if our voters pass Amendment 2, I bet those lawmakers will end up raising our property taxes to cover up this terrible, terrible mess we’ll get into here in West Virginia, and the big winners will be the big corporations who really get the tax cuts.
I just think it would put too many good people at risk, and I’m not going to turn my back on those folks.
Interstate 70 is in much better condition now than it has been for decades thanks to the Roads to Prosperity Project that began in late 2019. The conditions of our secondary roadways, however, have remained, overall, poor and concerning. Please explain your approach to improving the “country roads of West Virginia”?
When it comes to our roads in our state, it’s a two-fold deal, that’s for dawg-gone sure. When we initially developed the Roads to Prosperity program, it appeared to be the most prudent thing we could do for our residents was to do all the projects on the books because it would add employment and better our roads all at the same time. And it worked, but as it progressed through all of the projects we found out a number of different things that concerned us very much.
Previous administration had sold all of our maintenance equipment in our state, so we had to replace that equipment, and that caused us to pivot on that emphasis. But, with that being said, we almost reach our limit to what we can do so it’s going to take a while for all of us to get there. I know no one wants to hear that, but that’s where we are right now.
Now, I do have to say, these darn roads didn’t get this bad on my watch. It took decades of neglect to get us where we are right now. But we’re not going to use that as an excuse. Instead, we’re going to keep working hard so we can get those secondary roadways safe and sound for our residents and for their children. We have a ways to go, though, and we all know that to be true.
It sure seemed like it was a rough road on the way to get the $25 million streetscape finalized with the state Department of Transportation, but now local residents are very much looking forward to much smoother roadways in downtown Wheeling. Please explain why it took seven years since the introduction of the streetscape project.
The first thing I want to say on this subject is that the people of Wheeling have been so good to me since I was first elected back in 2016. Every visit I have made has been just wonderful, and I look forward to my trips to the Northern Panhandle every time. When I was there just this past Thursday, it was great to see some people who have become my friends since the voters honored with their votes.
What happened to the deal with the streetscape, though, is that the scope of the project kept changing. It really became a moving target because it kept getting bigger and more complicated, so that caused us to step back and reevaluate more than a few times. I guess we just needed it to quit changing, and then finally, it did so we were able to move forward.
And this is why I’ve supported so much despite the challenges. The first time I came into town as governor, I just couldn’t believe it. It made me think, ‘Good Lord, if there’s any place on Earth that needs our attention, it’s right here.’ That’s because you have a wonderful city with great people, but you couldn’t even ride a bicycle through that downtown, for crying out loud.
I think we got it now, though, despite those challenges I spoke about, and that means we’re going to push to get it done as quickly as humanly possible.
You have told us here in the Northern Panhandle that we get forgotten often in Charleston, especially by the elected officials who lead the Legislature. What can we do so that does not happen any longer?
Now, anyone who really knows me knows I don’t blow smoke at anyone at any time. That’s just not me. But there is something you can do, and this is not some rehearsed answer.
The best way for your voices to be heard is to vote, and right now the people of the Northern Panhandle have that opportunity because Election Day is literally just around the corner. I believe if the people of the Northern Panhandle do vote overwhelmingly against Amendment 2, it will stop a group of people from taking y’all for granted yet again. That’s what they have been doing for a while now, but that kind of thing would stop if the voters up there made the statement that there is no way they’ll stand for it. That’s how y’all can get heard in Charleston.
But if 19 people show up and vote? That’s when the people in Charleston will know once again that they can take y’all for granted. You just can’t let that happen because y’all live in an area of our state where growth will take place as long as the table is set the right way. That’s the biggest reason why y’all need to be heard right now.
This Election Day is the opportunity to let them know you exist.
