MORGANTOWN – Wheeling attorney and former mayor Glenn Elliott is going up against Gov. Jim Justice and Libertarian David Moran to succeed U.S. Sen. Joe Manchin. We sat down to talk with Elliott during a recent campaign stop in Morgantown.
Before getting into the whats and whys, Elliott pointed out that his second term as Wheeling mayor ended June 30 – so his campaign website is a little behind.
Asked why he chose to take on the Justice juggernaut, he said he didn’t give any real thought to entering the race until Manchin announced he wasn’t seeking reelection. He then talked with mayors around the state, who urged him to think about it.
Elliott considered his achievements during his two terms as mayor and his early experience working for Manchin’s predecessor, Sen. Robert Byrd, for five years right out of college. “I developed an appreciation for the way you can use that particular seat to bring back resources to a state like West Virginia.”
So he decided by mid-January to enter the race.
We talked about a few of the issues Elliott highlights on his campaign site.
One is abortion law, post-Dobbs, which sent such lawmaking back to the states. He said he’d like to see Congress pass a national law built on Roe v Wade, with some tweaks
“I’ve always believed that women need to have their reproductive rights protected,” he said. Roe v Wade offered the right balance, though it needs some tweaking.
West Virginia enacted “one of the most regressive abortion bans in the country, and I think we did so without thinking” about the real-world consequences, he said. “This is not the way we’re going to move society forward.”
He believes women may have to leave the state for some procedures under current law. “I have no doubt that if this issue were put to a national popular referendum, the pro-choice position would win hands down. It’s time for Congress now to step up and do that.”
Healthcare is another issue at the top of his list. “We have too many West Virginians who aren’t able to get affordable healthcare on their own.” The Affordable Care Act is a step in the right direction, but it doesn’t go far enough, he said.
Too many people rely on emergency rooms for their primary care, or put off care so long they have to go to the ER. And this is the most expensive and least efficient form of healthcare. West Virginia needs some more Medicaid expansion.
People don’t shop for insurance the way they shop for other goods, he said. The best price may not offer adequate coverage and that poses a difficult dilemma.
While many on the right loathe the ACA – called Obamacare – Elliott noted that it was modeled on the conservative Heritage Foundation plan put forth as an alternative to former First Lady Hillary Clinton’s failed plan.
“Letting the private markets alone do this is going to lead to very unfair outcomes for people at the lower end of the spectrum,” he said. We’re not ready for a single-payer system but we need to gradually transition to a place where fewer and fewer people fall between the cracks.
Social Security, ever on the brink of insolvency and a political hot potato, needs action, he said. One answer would be to raise the FICA income tax cap, now at $168,000. Lifting it to $250,000 would add solvency to the program going forward.
Another solution is to get more people paying into the system. That leads to talk of securing the border and addressing immigration. People are coming across to work and getting paid under the table. We need them to get paid legally and contribute tax dollars.
Elliott said he’d like to see more affordable housing across the nation. A lot of cities have a shortage of the type of housing people are looking for. Wheeling, for instance, has a lot of fixer-uppers but a shortage of turnkey for couples and young families.
We need more turnkey housing for young couples, he said. And we need to get people living in downtowns in states that have cities large enough to handle more loft apartments and high-rises where people can live and walk to or amenities.
A lot of Senate work is done in committees and we asked Elliott what panels he’d like to sit on.
While Appropriations is unlikely for a freshman, he said, he saw the power of that committee while working under Byrd, and he aspires to that.
Manchin chairs Energy and Natural Resources and Elliott sees that one as an opportunity to craft energy policy that keeps in mind the interests of West Virginians during the energy transition.
Turning back to Appropriations, he noted the current practice of Congressionally Directed Spending, a new version of the former, much maligned earmarks (nicknamed pork). While earmarks were subject to abuse, they were also a means to motivate senators to work on deals and make compromises in order to bring money back to their states.
Doing away with earmarks, he said, had the negative effect of putting more financial power into the hands of unelected agency bureaucrats. “The power of the purse is Congress’ main power in Article I of the Constitution. They should not be so anxious to yield it to another branch of government.”
We ended with some time for Elliott to offer a few final thoughts.
“One of the reasons I got into this race: It’s harder and harder for middle class families to get by,”
even though the economy is doing well.
One way to address that, he said, is a fairer tax code where the wealthier pay more of their fair share and we raise the standard deduction for some of the lower brackets.
“We have to make life less stressful for people.” For things like health insurance and affordable and available child care. “Child care should not be like a luxury.”
The top tax rate has some wiggle room, he said. “If this country has blessed you with incredible resources and wealth, you should want to give a little bit more back.”
Email: dbeard@dominionpost.com
