Kessler files to run for governor

With little knowledge of him, (4.00 / 4)

he seems like a fine candidate. Good look, good interest group ratings (for WV), good choice in presidential candidates.....don't know enough about him though

I have my own favorite for governor in 2012....don't know if he'll run though.

I'm all about getting started early.....but damn, this is EARLY.....I'd like to see someone step up for a 2010 run against Capito.

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by: japhyryder79 @ Thu Apr 09, 2009 at 15:10:12 PM UTC

Already on board (4.00 / 3)

As most of you probably have guessed, Jeff Kessler is my man for office. There is a woosh of excitement here in the Northern Panhandle about his candidacy, even though the Wheeling newspapers and Ogden Nutcase tried to burst his bubble.

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by: WV26003 @ Thu Apr 09, 2009 at 16:42:20 PM UTC

That's two of us who are already on board, then. And enthusiastically (4.00 / 2)

on board. I've dealt with Jeff several times. Always in friendly and more or less superficial circumstances, but this guy has substance. He is impressive in every way, and that includes the ever-important, "Does he look and sound like a governor?" sense.

And he's one helluva good Democrat. By that I mean a good Democrat in national terms of comparison, not simply, "Hey, for socially conservative WV, he's...um...kinda okay..."

Senator Kessler has a razor-sharp intelligence, the bottom line of which for me is defined by how quickly and decisively he can see through bullsh*^.

Once, in the Marriott before a JJ Dinner, I heard him slice and dice Professor Sobel's theories, ending with an impromptu peroration invoking the knowledge of economics West Virginia Democrats have that, literally, brought a couple of folks out of their seats.

It was concise, and it really registered emotionally.

Okay, so, Jeff versus John Perdue, someone else I like enormously. My initial reaction to that is we talking WV's past versus WV's future.

But dislodging John from frontrunner status is a formidable task.

Jeff's seriousness and understanding of the uphill climb ahead of him is proved by this three-years-out running start.

I think he can win it all.

(And now, let's let the fantasy Jim Carville side of me take over and ask this: who might Jeff put in the race who can split up John's base? Which is another way of asking, when does the grassroots fundrasing begin?)

(Oh. One last observation: how does this early announcement affect Senator Kessler's position as Senate judiciary chair? From here out, everything he does in that capacity is under a microscope, and he's vulnerable to criticism for "being political" even when he's not. That's a weakness, legislatively and otherwise.)

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by: benjaminwalter @ Thu Apr 09, 2009 at 22:55:03 PM UTC

[ Parent ]

OK, that is the kind of stuff I was looking for. (4.00 / 2)

like I said, I don't know enough about him....but the main question I had is does he have substance, can he make you think he's a governor, and can he play to a large audience?

That sounded like a pretty good endorsement and if the choice comes down to Kessler or Perdue, then Kessler has my vote and as much support as I can give.

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by: japhyryder79 @ Fri Apr 10, 2009 at 01:02:20 AM UTC

[ Parent ]

I think Kessler is a good guy. (4.00 / 2)

ITA about his intellegence.  He has been a very accessible Judiciary Chair.  There are some issues where we don't see eye to eye, but that ain't going to happen in my lifetime.
Is Perdue running for real?

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by: MadAnne @ Fri Apr 10, 2009 at 01:03:13 AM UTC

I think it is just (4.00 / 1)

assumed Perdue is running.

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by: japhyryder79 @ Fri Apr 10, 2009 at 01:11:52 AM UTC

[ Parent ]

If you know John, and he wants your support... (4.00 / 1)

he isn't bashful about declaring his intentions. Not in the least.

And let me repeat, John, IMO, is one helluva good guy. He's been a warhorse and a workhorse for Democratic Party in West Virginia.

It was Gus Douglass who initially encouraged John and helped steer his political career years ago.

John is formidable for a number of reasons, not the least of which is that he is known and liked by damn near every local level rank-and-file Democratic Party regular in the state. And that is no exaggeration.

He's been a waiting-in-the-wings heir apparent since late 2003, when he declined to enter the primary contest against Joe, Senator Jackson and Jim Lees.  

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by: benjaminwalter @ Fri Apr 10, 2009 at 10:34:19 AM UTC

[ Parent ]

Just for everyone's information... (4.00 / 1)

here's a link to the 18 comments generated online by the Gazette's tidbit of an article on Senator Kessler's announcement:

http://wvgazette.com/comments?...

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by: benjaminwalter @ Sat Apr 11, 2009 at 12:11:59 PM UTC

What Abernathy has to say: (4.00 / 1)

Kessler's got the Abernathy anti-endorsement (from his Friday, April 10 edition... if he had a real blog I could link to it):

Kessler for governor? Another dose of reality needed in politics

Sen. Jeff Kessler this week announced his candidacy for governor in 2012 -- that's right, 2012 -- barely five months since the last gubernatorial campaign.

Kessler, a Democrat from Marshall County, appeared on "Talkline" and in essence told host Hoppy Kercheval that he either wrote or had a hand in every good bill that has happened in the last decade or so. Modesty will not be his campaign theme.

Actually, I have met Sen. Kessler a couple of times, and he seems like a very nice fellow. But he will never, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever be elected governor of West Virginia, or even win the Democrat nomination, and he's another in a long line of candidates (can you say Billy Wayne Bailey?) whose ability to ignore the obvious makes you wonder how they got as far as they have.

The most telling part of Kessler's interview with Hoppy was when Kessler was asked whether he could raise money, and he replied that money wasn't everything -- which is what candidates tend to say who end up calling to congratulate the winners.

Give Abernathy's track record of predictions, this prognostication is got to be good for something. ;-)

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by: Clem Guttata @ Sun Apr 12, 2009 at 01:01:26 AM UTC