When he was initially elected to the House of Delegates in 2014, Shawn Fluharty was referred to as a “whippersnapper” by conservative news outlets throughout the state. He was brand new; it took him three campaigns to win the seat; and he was one of the youngest members elected to the House of Delegates in 2014.
whip·per·snap·per; /ˈ(h)wipərˌsnapər/
noun
A young and inexperienced person considered to be presumptuous or overconfident.
Now who gets the last laugh?
W.Va. Del. Fluharty (D-3) has accepted the position of Minority Whip for the Democratic Party in the Legislature’s House of Delegates. He is joined by assistant Whips Dels. Lisa Zukoff and Phil Diserio firm District Four, and Dels. Cody Thompson and Nathan Brown.
“I’m excited for this leadership position because I think it’s important for the Northern Panhandle to have an influence with the leadership in Charleston,” Fluharty said. “We all know that the Northern Panhandle has been left out of past conversations, but now that will not happen among the Democrats in the House of Delegates.
“But, when you have a representative serving as the Minority Whip, that will give our Panhandle a voice,” he said. “In the past I have made some noise so that my district would be represented, but now that role has been expanded, and I am excited for the opportunity.”
77-23
Following Election Day in November, the state’s Democratic Party realized membership losses in both chambers of the Legislature. The Senate possesses only 11 Democrats of 34 elected seats, and it’s now 77-23 in the House.
That means the Republican Party owns super majorities in both chambers and can pass whatever legislation it wishes, and it has the membership to override a veto by Gov. Jim Justice, too. So, what can Fluharty or any other Democrat do to represent their state’s party?
“If you look at my history in Charleston, after a lot of people told me that I didn’t have a chance to get sports betting passed because I was in the minority party, but West Virginia has sports better today,” Fluharty said. “The same has taken place with several other pieces of legislation, and that’s because it is possible to get a lot of good things done even though I’ve been outnumbered in the beginning of those initiatives.
“I’ve proven to be effective while serving in the minority, and I have been appointed to other positions that have allowed me to work with a lot of people on the other side of the aisle,” he continued. “And I feel I have gained the respect of those Republican members, and I believe that is going to help me in this Whip position when the regular session begins. I have that fire for the people if this state.”
The ‘Whipster’
The delegate has never feared standing up on the House floor and verbalizing his approval or his disgust about what his colleagues have offered as alleged betterment for the entire state. West Virginia, after all, may not be a large state with millions in population, but the cultures differ significantly from region to region.
As the Democrat’s Minority Whip, Fluharty will lead caucus conversations, work with leaders of the majority party, and insert make-sense amendments to sure-thing pieces of legislation as often as possible. That is his reality now.
“The Democratic Party in West Virginia needs to get back to our West Virginia roots,” Fluharty explained. “Our party has been branded by national politics and the national Democratic Party, but I don’t think you can mistake West Virginia Democrats as liberal elitists. That’s because we still represent the working class in the state of West Virginia.
“There is a clear difference between us and the national Democrats, but we’ve been branded that way again, and it’s hurt our party. Just look at the numbers,” the delegate added. “I believe our party needs to send a very clear message to the people of West Virginia about what we stand for and whom we stand for in Charleston. That’s what I have done here in the Northern Panhandle, and it’s what I plan to do in Charleston, and it’s my hope the other members of the Democratic Party will follow my lead to help send that message.”
