Nearly all Democratic candidates running in the House of Delegates 35th District see raising West Virginia's cigarette tax as a way to plug the state's budget shortfall, spur people to quit smoking and drive down healthcare costs.
West Virginia has one of the highest smoking rates in the nation - and one of the lowest tobacco taxes.
"We have subsidized poor, sick people who are sick," said Jack Rogers, a former executive director of the West Virginia Public Defender Services office. "We need to do something to lessen the usage."
Incumbent Delegate Andrew Byrd, D-Kanawha, said constituents he's talked to in the 35th District support a cigarette tax hike. State lawmakers have tossed around proposed increases ranging from 45 cents to $1 per pack.
"Every single group I've talked to says 'split the baby,'" said Byrd, who believes a 75-cent increase would be a reasonable compromise.
However, Shawn Little, a firefighter and paramedic, argued that West Virginians already are taxed enough. And he doubts people will give up the smoking habit just because the price of cigarettes goes up.
"Just because you raise taxes doesn't mean they're going to quit," said Little, who lives in Cross Lanes. "I'm not an advocate for raising taxes."
Devin Casey, a Charleston carpenter, said he'd support a cigarette tax increase, but also wants to see the state diversify its economy by expanding manufacturing and hardwood industries.
"I'm a carpenter," Casey said. "Every time I go to Lowe's to buy boards, it's 'Made in China,' 'Made in China.'"
Ben Sheridan, a lawyer who lives in St. Albans, supports expansion of high-speed Internet in West Virginia as a way to boost the state's economy.
"Nobody is going to move their business to West Virginia unless they have access to viable, high-speed broadband, especially in the rural counties," said Sheridan, who's leading a class-action lawsuit against Frontier Communications, the state's largest Internet provider.
Sheridan said he has reservations about building a state-owned broadband network - a proposal passed by the state Senate and snubbed by the House of Delegates earlier this year. In 2010, West Virginia received $126 million in federal stimulus funds to expand broadband, but still ranks low among states for high-speed Internet availability.
"I don't know if a publicly funded system is the right option when tens of millions of dollars have already been dumped into this," Sheridan said. "It should already be there as far as a viable [Internet] backbone."
The 35th District candidates were unanimous in their criticism of the Republican-controlled Legislature.
They said state lawmakers should have spent more time on bills to fix roads and create jobs - and steered clear of legislation like the "Religious Freedom Restoration Act," which critics say promotes discrimination.
"Buzzword bills took all the air out of the [legislative] session," said Ben Adams, a Charleston lawyer running for one of four seats in the district.
Thornton Cooper, who was a top finisher in the 2014 Democratic primary in the 35th District, offered a damning assessment of the current Legislature.
"I'm running to, hopefully, take back the House of Delegates from the Republican majority," Cooper said. "The damage that has been done in the last two decades will probably take decades to undo."
Out-of-state special interest groups are driving the West Virginia GOP lawmakers' agenda, the Democratic candidates said.
"They're getting directed by specific groups," Byrd said.
Rogers singled out conservative mega-donors. "The Koch brothers are here," he said. "It's a tragedy that the people of West Virginia are being lied to."
The Democratic candidates met with Gazette-Mail editors Friday. Two candidates - John Knight and C.B. Britton - did not attend. Republicans running in the 35th District are scheduled to meet with the newspaper Monday.
The 35th District covers South Charleston, South Hills, Kanawha City, Dunbar and St. Albans.
Reach Eric Eyre at
ericeyre@wvgazettemail.com,
304-348-4869 or follow
@ericeyre on Twitter.