Democrats running in the House of Delegates 32nd District offered proposals Thursday for balancing the budget, growing the economy and improving public schools - including some unconventional ideas.
Randy Halsey, a teacher at Midland Trail High School, said he favors legalizing medical marijuana, not just to provide a new revenue source, but to provide relief to chronically ill patients, like his wife who died last fall.
"I didn't want her to suffer, obviously, and I had to listen to her suffer for three years," he told Gazette-Mail editors.
Former Delegate Margaret Staggers went one better: "Forget medical marijuana. Just legalize marijuana," she said, suggesting that if there isn't enough support to legalize pot for in-state sales, the state should at least legalize growing marijuana for export to states and localities where it is legal.
"There's all sorts of ways we're not thinking outside the box," said Staggers, who lost her 2014 reelection bid by 80 votes.
As for the current budget crisis, former state Sen. Shirley Love said he would support restoring the sales tax on food, recalling how in 1989, then-Gov. Gaston Caperton used the food tax to pull the state out of a similar economic crisis.
"West Virginia is in such a financial crisis, and it's going to be even worse next year," said Love, who said he would also support increasing "sin taxes" on cigarettes, beer and alcohol.
However, Greg Crist, who also teaches in Fayette County, said he considers the food tax regressive, since a millionaire would pay the same tax on a loaf of bread as he would.
"That tax hurts me a lot more than it hurts him," Crist said.
Crist said he would prefer that the state impose temporary taxes that would expire once the current budget crisis subsides.
"I don't think you can cut your way to prosperity. I don't think you can tax your way to prosperity either," he said.
Joel Davis, a retired Fayette County teacher, said a food tax might be acceptable if the revenue were dedicated for a particular use, such as public education.
"If I'm paying a penny and know it's going for education, I'm all right with it," he said.
Davis said a fairer option would be to expand the state personal income tax brackets - currently, the top 6.5 percent bracket covers everyone with incomes of $60,000 or more.
He said if the 30,000 West Virginians with incomes of $400,000 or more each paid an additional $3,000 of income taxes each, that would provide an additional $90 million of state revenue each year.
The candidates agreed that the state needs to invest more in infrastructure to attract new business to the state.
Crist cited development around the iconic New River Gorge Bridge, located in the district, as proof that, he said, "If you invest in the infrastructure, it pays you back."
Halsey said the state needs to come up with creative ways to fund infrastructure, while Staggers noted that as House Transportation Committee chairwoman, she advocated a $1.2 billion road bond.
"You want good roads? Vote yes. You don't want them? Vote no, and then don't complain," Staggers said.
She said infrastructure is not only about roads, but about access to air and rail transportation and high-speed broadband Internet.
"It's all interwoven now," she said.
The candidates - five of the 11 Democrats running for three House seats from the 32nd District, which includes Fayette County and small portions of Clay, Kanawha, Nicholas and Raleigh counties - indicated they decided to run partially out of frustration with the current Legislature.
"To see what our legislators were focusing their efforts on, raw milk, that sort of thing, I just felt there were other issues to be addressed," Crist said.
Davis cited partisan votes to pass controversial measures such as right-to-work and prevailing wage repeal.
"Come high water, they were going to pass it," he said. "That riles me."
The district is currently represented by Republicans Tom Fast and Kayla Kessinger, who are seeking reelection, and by Democrat Dave Perry, who is running for the state Senate.
Candidates also discussed the Fayette County school system, put under state control in 2009, and where multiple attempts to pass bond issues or secure School Building Authority funding to replace deteriorating schools have failed.
Both Staggers and Crist suggested it may be necessary to consolidate county boards of education to reduce costs.
Crist also faulted legislators for proposing educational mandates without getting feedback from educators.
"The big problem I have with all that is they rarely, if ever, consult with us," he said.
Halsey said state control of the school system has caused a more divisive atmosphere in the county.
"The communities are pitted against each other - who is going to lose their school?" he said.
Love said consolidation is the only answer, saying it is simply not feasible to operate five high schools in a county that is losing population. However, he said that's a tough proposition for many.
"The perception is, if you close the school down, you close the town down," he said.
Reach Phil Kabler at
304-348-1220 or follow
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