By its own bylaws, the West Virginia Municipal League is a "statewide, nonprofit, bipartisan association of cities, towns and villages," but some Democrats are complaining it's not as bipartisan as it should be.
One matter is that, since the league started leasing out the conference room at its headquarters at 2020 Kanawha Boulevard E. - practically adjacent to the Capitol complex - for campaign fundraisers beginning this spring, it has been used almost exclusively by Republicans.
That includes fundraisers for Sens. Mitch Carmichael and Craig Blair and senatorial candidate Ryan Weld, not to mention a fundraiser for Senate President Bill Cole on May 11 in which Municipal League Executive Director Lisa Dooley and administrative assistant Beth McCoy each gave $1,000.
(Delegate Eric Householder, R-Berkeley, had scheduled a fundraiser at the league headquarters in May, but moved it to avoid union protesters who had gathered outside.)
Dooley conceded that only one Democrat has rented out the league's conference room, Delegate Patsy Trecost, D-Harrison, for a fundraiser for his ill-fated primary run for secretary of state.
The latest affront came earlier this month at the league's annual conference at the Stonewall Jackson Resort when Cole was a guest speaker, while Jim Justice was not invited - in his introduction of Cole, former senator and Wheeling mayor Andy McKenzie reportedly made some snarky comments about Justice's absence.
Justice, in turn, sent a letter to state mayors last week, stating, "I write to you today because I was not afforded the opportunity to speak with you at your recent conference. I would have loved to met with you and discuss our shared goals for a better West Virginia. Unfortunately, as you know sometimes in elections, people play political games to try and score cheap points by only inviting one side to speak, for example."
In response, Dooley said the league traditionally does not invite candidates to speak at the conference, adding, "Our policy has always been if a candidate calls, we'll work them in."
She said that unlike the state Chamber of Commerce or Business and Industry Council, the league does not make political endorsements.
"As far as political games, I don't play them. I work with who ever they send up there," she said, referring to the Capitol.
As for rentals of the headquarters' conference room for fundraisers, she said it is simply coincidental that a plurality of candidates have been Republican.
"Just because the Marriott rents out a conference room, it doesn't mean the Marriott endorses that candidate," she commented.
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Found it interesting how quickly legislative leadership denounced comments from Revenue Secretary Bob Kiss and Deputy Secretary Mark Muchow concluding that the ongoing budget impasse in June had contributed to a 23 percent plunge in sales tax collections for the month, as legislators' inability to pass a balanced budget had a chilling effect on consumer spending.
Legislative leaders, including Cole and Carmichael, dismissed the statements as partisan politics, insisting that flooding was the real contributor to the downturn in consumer activity.
Yes, the flooding was a factor. According to Military Affairs and Public Safety, the best ballpark estimate is that the June 23 flooding affected 25,300 residents. It destroyed 125 businesses, damaged more than 800 others, and closed a entire shopping plaza and The Greenbrier resort.
However, the flood affected consumer sales for seven days in June, while the effect of the budget impasse covered at least the first 13 days of the month, and likely lasted longer.
While the flood affected 25,300 residents, the budget impasse affected spending by more than 37,000 state employees who were staring down the barrel of job terminations on July 1.
The fear among those employees that state government might actually shut down intensified on June 8 when Gov. Earl Ray Tomblin vetoed the Legislature's second budget plan, which would have grabbed $182 million of Rainy Day funds in a desperate attempt to close the deficit with no new taxes.
The Minnesota state government shut down of 2011 - perhaps the best glimpse at what might have been coming for West Virginia - lasted 20 days.
(No wonder privilege tax collections on motor vehicle sales also plunged 19 percent in June - no one is going to buy a car in June if they're uncertain if they'll be working in July.)
Not to mention that some 230,000 residents with health insurance through PEIA were looking at the possibility of either having their insurance canceled July 1 or facing draconian benefits cuts costing $120 million a year if the Legislature failed to pass a budget that included increased funding for employer premiums.
That uncertainty resulted in PEIA reporting a spike of at least $21 million for medical claims, as insurees sought out medical care before their coverage potentially lapsed or their benefits were cut.
As Kiss noted, income spent on medical care (which is not subject to sales taxes) is money not spent on consumer goods.
The House of Delegates passed the tobacco tax increase on June 13, technically breaking the budget impasse, and the Legislature approved the 2016-17 budget bill the next day. Tomblin signed the bill into law June 24, and given that he had vetoed the Legislature's two previous swipes at a budget plan, one could understand if public employees were hesitant to make any major purchases until Tomblin had officially inked SB 1013, just six days prior to what would have been a government shutdown.
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Finally, I didn't have much success contacting Congressman Alex Mooney's staff to get cost figures on what appear to be two campaign fliers he has franked at taxpayer expense to voters. (A week before he sent the flier announcing his Second Amendment rally in Putnam County, he sent a flier touting his efforts for military veterans - fliers that were not sent district-wide, but appear to be targeted to select voter groups.)
Also couldn't get a cost estimate on the purported town hall meeting at the Poca River Hunting, Fishing and Recreation Club.
I did hear from Noble Lanham, who attended a family reunion at the club on Saturday following Mooney's event, who stated, "We were shocked at the condition of the pavilion when we arrived. There was considerable food left on the floor, including a couple of hot dogs and lots of potato chips. The garbage cans were crammed full and the garbage bags were left open with smelly food also."
Which suggests either light appetites or a low turnout.
Reach Phil Kabler at philk@wvgazettemail.com, 304-348-1220, or follow @PhilKabler on Twitter.