FAIRMONT — Marion County Democrat Delegate Mike Caputo hopes to succeed his Marion colleague Sen. Roman Prezioso, who announced last month he won’t seek reelection in 2020.
Caputo announced his candidacy for the 13th District Senate seat on Tuesday to a packed room of supporters in Fairmont. The 13th District covers the most populous portions of Mon and Marion, along the I-68 corridor.
“We’ve got a lot of good things happening right here in north-central West Virginia and we need to keep those things moving,” Caputo said. Those include education, development, healthcare, high tech companies and tourism.
“All of that equals jobs, jobs and jobs,” he said. “We’ve got to keep moving in that direction to keep our economy strong and moving in north-central West Virginia.”
Caputo was first elected to the House in 1996 and will have served 12 full terms through 2020. He served as majority whip under Speakers Rick Thompson and Tim Miley, and has been minority whip under since the GOP took over in 2015.
The hotel meeting room was jammed with fellow legislators, officials and law enforcement from Mon and Marion, coal miners, educators and military veterans.
United Mine Workers of America President Cecil Roberts is a longtime friend and colleague of Caputo’s – Caputo worked underground and became a union official – and provided the introduction.
Roberts illustrated Caputo’s character with an example from his own family. Roberts’ father died in 2007 after a yearlong illness. When his father first became ill, “The first person to call me to check on my dad was Mike.” When his father died, “The first person to call me and give me comfort was Mike.”
Roberts’ mother died this year, in February, at age 99 and 7 months. “Every time she went to the hospital, the first person to call and come to see her was Mike,” Roberts said.
“This is a real person, and what we need in this country are more real people,” he said. “Mike has always made our government work for all of us.”
Caputo has helped farmers, firefighters, nurses, doctors, teachers, police officers, workers from all trades, soldiers and coal miners, the poor and the homeless, Roberts said. “He’s kept hope alive in a lot of homes in West Virginia and across this nation. … The person standing beside me has always done the right thing.”
Caputo thanked his wife, Tina, and his daughter, Jessica, for supporting him through his political career and for standing beside him for his announcement.
Deciding to make a Senate run, he said, was a tough decision. When Prezioso announced his plan to step down, people reached out to him as a possible successor, and he reached out to many to get their views.
Caputo didn’t mention it Tuesday, but after Prezioso announced at the beginning of November, Caputo make a Nov. 6 Facebook post: “Should I run for state Senate?” That drew 556 supportive hearts, smiles and thumbs up, plus more on reposts by others.
Caputo’s campaign slogan is Taking North Central to the Next Level. That means partnering with business and labor, and understanding the needs of the businesses and the workers, he said.
“There’s always room for compromise, but both sides have to want to compromise and both sides have to want to do the right thing,” he said. “I want to work in a bipartisan fashion to find compromise that makes sense and continues to bring jobs to north-central West Virginia.”
Anyone who has seen Caputo on the House floor has seen his feisty, fighter side. And that emerged for a moment during his speech. He turned a bit red noting that if Senate President Mitch Carmichael and GOP pursue a path of disrespect, “If it’s a fight he wants, it’s a fight he will get! It’s a fight he will get!”
Caputo concluding by saying that in his entire political career, he’s made only two campaign promises: “I will always work as I possibly can for you. And I will never, ever forget where I came from.”
Mon County Sen. Bob Beach, Prezioso’s 13th District colleague, was among the legislators standing with Caputo. Asked about Caputo being a possible colleague, he said. “I’m looking forward to it.”
The question quickly rose of who might succeed Prezioso him when he announced, Beach said. “It’s nice to finally turn to my left and say, ‘There’s the guy, Mike Caputo.’ Mike’s been a good fit for Marion County for 20-some years. I think he’s going to be a wonderful fit for Mon and Marion counties and the state of West Virginia in this next term.”
Caputo serves the 50th Delegate District, covering most of Marion County. His colleagues there are Democrats Linda Longstreth and Michael Angelucci, who also turned out.
“He’ll do a wonderful job,” Longstreth said. “Personally, we’re going to miss him in the House. He’s been one of our leaders for a long, long time.”
But 2020 will also be Longstreth’s last term in the House. She’s running for Marion County Commission.
Angelucci, a freshman elected in 2018, commented on that. “It’s going to be certainly odd not having them as mentors in the House of Delegates. But they have certainly done well for the people of Marion County, and I know Mike will do very well for the great people of Marion and Mon serving in the Senate.”
Two of Caputo’s colleagues from the mines were among the UMWA members on hand.
Jack Rinehart worked with Caputo in District 31 starting back in 1998. “He was a good and straight man then, and he’s a good friend now. And he’s the man for the job. That’s why we’re here today to support him.”
John Palmer has worked at Federal No. 2 for 40 years. Caputo was a mechanic there and they on the same pipeline. “He’s always been a straightforward young man, and he still is. He’s a good one. And I thank God we’ve got people like that out there standing up for us, for the common man. We’re blessed to have a friend like that.”
Tweet David Beard @dbeardtdp Email dbeard@dominionpost.com
