The teachers organized in West Virginia all the way down to wearing red.
There was red in the chambers, in the rotunda, the cafeteria, and red all over the grounds of the West Virginia capitol grounds, and that’s what Stephen Smith claims made him see red. That’s what Smith says broke the camel’s back.
Since the first day Stephen introduced himself as a Democratic gubernatorial candidate, he’s been compared to presidential candidate U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders (D-VT). Progressive, crowd-pleasing, best-case scenario platform, but none of it would come true if Smith doesn’t win the primary over Ben Salango on June 9 and THEN if he manages to defeat the big-money Republican opponent in November.
If he does win? That’s when Stephen Smith will need to take his community approach into the Governor’s Mansion and into an office many state lawmakers have explained as vacant the past three years, and then he would have to convince 134 state lawmakers to follow his lead down a path never explored by a Mountain State governor. “Way outside the box” is one way to describe it, but maybe another way is, “Let’s smoke the weed.”
How has the coronavirus crisis altered your campaign, and are you attracting the same kind of crowds online as you were when appearing in person?
We believe we now have the responsibility to not just win a people’s government; we must also do everything we can to halt the health and economic crisis caused by the virus. Our coronavirus resource page (wvcantwait.com/coronavirus) was up before the State of West Virginia’s, and is more comprehensive. Our economic relief plan (wvcantwait.com/coronavirus-plan-for-wv) was out almost a month ago, but the governor still fails to act on things like telehealth billing, paid sick days, and a clear no-evictions, and no-shutoffs order.
And most important, we have turned our field operation into a coronavirus crisis response team. In just the last two weeks, we have recruited and trained 271 neighborhood captains across West Virginia to volunteer from home checking in on 100 of their neighbors each week, making sure they have the food, medicine, absentee ballots, and unemployment benefits they need. By focusing on the needs of West Virginians, we have actually seen our campaign grow; we go live six nights/week at 8:30pm on Facebook interviewing front-line West Virginians, and those Town Halls are viewed by thousands of people each night. Folks can also reach me personally at 304.610.6512.
What is the overall message you have worked very hard to deliver to the people of West Virginia, and how will the change of date for Primary Election Tuesday allow your and your supporters to further spread that message?
Our message is that we want a people’s government. Find the people who work the hardest and sacrifice the most; that’s whose side we’re on. The most important thing that the election date change does is give all of us more time to vote from home and convince our families to do the same.
Please, even if you are not voting for me, vote from home. The latest estimates suggest we’ll have even more people infected in June than we do now, so we can all do our part to slow the spread by agreeing to vote from home. Here’s the link to print out an absentee ballot application: https://sos.wv.gov/FormSearch/Elections/Voter/Absentee%20Ballot%20Application.pdf.
During this crisis, what grade (A-B-C-D-F) would you give Gov. Jim Justice thus far?
F. And it should come as no surprise.
This is the oldest story in West Virginia history. The people of West Virginia do all the work, while the Good Old Boys in Charleston get rich. We serve our neighbors. They serve themselves. When we needed him to act with speed, he plodded along. When we needed him to choose working people, he chose coal executives. When we needed him to be clear about our safety, he told us to go to Bob Evans. For folks who are still looking for good information, please check out wvcantwait.com/coronavirus.
If elected, would you support the legalization of cannabis for adult use? Please explain your answer.
Yes. We are the only Democratic or Republican campaign for governor to support full legalization. It would save lives, reduce jail costs, raise revenue, and most importantly it would put thousands of West Virginia small businesses and farmers in business.
What finally made you decide to run for the governor’s position in West Virginia? Please explain.
Like thousands of other West Virginians, I was inspired by the educators’ strike. It reminded all of us what is possible when we act together, and we act with courage. Conventional wisdom said that there was no way the teachers and school service personnel could have won as much as they did from a Republican government. But they did.
For a Democrat to win the Governor’s office, he or she will need to do what the teacher’s did — act boldly, reject corporate greed, organize county by county, and focus more on results than party affiliation. We are the only campaign doing those things. You can read all of our plans at wvcantwait.com/platform-plans.
