MORGANTOWN — Monongalia County’s five incumbent Democratic state delegates came before The Dominion Post Editorial Board last week to field a series of questions as they all seek reelection in November.
As many meetings are these days, this was conducted virtually.
Delegates Barbara Evans Fleischauer, Evan Hansen, Rodney Pyles, Danielle Walker and John Williams face five GOP challengers who will be interviewed in the coming days.
A question on how each of the Fab Five – as they’ve labeled themselves – distinguishes themselves from their colleagues turned instead to their commonalities.
Fleischauer said, “We work together as a team. I think cooperation is critical to getting legislation passed.” But each of the five has different strengths.
Fleischauer is a lawyer and has the longest experience in the House of the five. That will prove useful during the redistricting special session expected sometime in the summer of 2021. She also has long experience on the Health Committee.
Pyles noted that he’s the oldest. “Being a senior citizen, that makes me especially interested in issues affecting senior citizens.”
He’s also interested in historic preservation and able to get passed into a tax credit to rehab historic buildings.
Hansen said his training and work as founder of Downstream Strategies gives him interest and expertise in energy and environmental issues.
He supports supports miner health and safety issues but also sees the need to diversify the economy “and get our fair share of energy jobs.” He also is focused on clean drinking water and climate change.
Williams cited his relative youth and his ability to find common ground with people he disagrees with. He understood the need for funding for AP tests for students entering college and was able to add that to the budget.
He also led the way in modernizing alcohol laws to allow breweries to distill liquors.“It’s all about marketing ourselves to youth and making West Virginia an attractive place to relocate.”
Walker pointed to the color of her skin. “You can just look at me and see that I am very different from my colleagues.” She sponsored a bill to make it illegal to discriminate based on hair texture or style that died in the House, but had a Senate twin pass only to die again in the House.
And because of her life experiences, she said, she stands with the LGBTQ community and understands the frustrations of people who receive SNAP, TANF, Medicaid and special needs waivers.
The five were also asked to cite their biggest accomplishments and disappointments and mention some goals for 2021.
Hansen said that despite the skeptics, he pushed through s solar energy bill, HB 4562, the Renewable Energy Facilities Program, by working long hours drumming up bipartisan support. “I was pretty proud to prove those people wrong. … Long term I think that’s going to do a lot for West Virginia.”
Next year, he wants to pursue broadband expansion, getting broadband maps more accurate and holding providers more accountable, and model civility in debate. “I think people are fed up with the divisions. I think people are fed up with both parties.”
Williams, in the Finance Committee, defeated an attempt to end the 1 cent pop tax that provides $15 million per year for the WVU medical school. “I don’t know what possible excuse we have to defund the primary teaching hospital in West Virginia.”
He was disappointed that his Divisions of Highways road funding formula bill got vetoed but will try again.
With potential $1 billion shortfalls over next several years stemming from COID-19, he said, he’s part of a bipartisan group looking at the new economy post-COVID, and at ways to attract people to West Virginia.
Walker co-sponosored and promoted the foster care parents Bill of Rights. “We need to make sure we’re also working together,” she said. “We take care of our own and this bill is going to do that” for those who are already foster care families and those who will be.
She and Fleischauer both mentioned their desire to see the Fairness Act, to protect LQBTQ rights, and the Katherine Johnson-Dorothy Vaughn Fair Pay Act get passed next session after failing in 2020.
Fleischauer noted that she’s been pushing a Fairness Act for about 20 years.
Fleischauer also was pleased that here insulin bill to cap copays passed. The Dominion Post reported in March on how a single senator tried to kill it.
Before the 2020 session Fleischauer called attention to the problem and co-organized an insulin bu trip to Niagara Falls, Canada, where riders talked to The Dominion Post about the devastating expenses and learned about the far lower prices across the border.
She’s concerned that a COVID-sparked budget crisis could occupy much of the Legislature’s attention in 2021.
Pyles was pleased that his bill to exempt Social Security income form state income tax passed in 2019. He was disappointed that his livable home tax credit to provide for needed accessibility modifications for seniors died four years in a row and plans to try again.
He also wants to resurrect efforts to increase the homestead exemption and pass a ban on declawing cats.
Tweet David Beard@dbeardtdp Email dbeard@dominionpost.com
