In a recent press briefing, Gov. Jim Justice said he’s open to the idea of continuing to coach basketball if he wins the U.S. Senate seat. After all, he said, he’s done it all through his governorship and he’s regularly gone back and forth from his Lewisburg home to Charleston for the past eight years: “I do have the ability to go and come and go very quickly.”
It might be premature to discuss this now, considering we’re still six months out from the primary and 11 months from the general election. However, this speaks to his approach to being a federal lawmaker and that is something of which we should all take note.
We don’t want to denigrate a politician who maintains close ties to his or her community. It’s refreshing, in many ways — too many elected officials hit higher office and become solely involved in the workings of the Capitol, whether that be in Charleston or Washington, D.C.
That said, if Justice were to become senator, it wouldn’t be practical for him to continue coaching basketball in Lewisburg — and doing so would be a disservice to the state, the country and the team.
It’s one thing to make the two- to two-and-a-half-hour drive from Charleston to Lewisburg — it’s another to make the five-hour drive from D.C. to Lewisburg on a regular basis. What was previous a five-hour roundtrip would become a 10-hour roundtrip, necessitating overnight stays, many of them on weekdays when Congress would be in session.
And there’s the catch: Justice could limit his coaching to just games, only coming back once a week, but that’s not fair to his team. They deserve the reliability and consistency of a fulltime coach who can be there for every game and every practice. On the flip-side, if he dedicates more time to his team, that’s less time he’s spending in Washington, which means less time doing the job we sent him there to do (and that we’re paying him for). It’s not fair to West Virginia if Justice isn’t in D.C. to work on policy that could benefit the state. And considering the Senate requires high voting thresholds to pass anything, it’s not fair to the country if he isn’t there to cast a vote on legislation or presidential nominations to key positions. (Yes, one senator can make that much of a difference. Remember, right now a single senator is holding up all military promotions.)
Of course, Justice could fly in by plane or helicopter, which would make for a shorter journey, but flying isn’t cheap and that would not be a responsible use of taxpayer dollars. And it wouldn’t just be West Virginia taxpayer money at that point — it would be funds drawn from the whole country’s taxpayer dollars.
Holding a federal office is not the same as holding a state office. Justice can’t commute from his home in Lewisburg to D.C. the way he’s been commuting to Charleston. He can’t keep daily or weekly obligations in West Virginia when he’s needed in Washington.
Justice’s love for his community speaks well of his character. But if he wants to represent West Virginia on the national stage, he’s going to have to prioritize. And that might mean giving up something he personally enjoys in order to better serve the state.
