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by heath_harrison
Seeing as how he can get a meeting with Governor Manchin and the congressional delegation on a whim, a good deal of people in West Virginia are probably left asking, "Just who is Art Kirkendoll, the man who is working so hard to build a career off the panic stirred up by the coal barons?"
 The late, great OVEC organizer Laura Forman knew who she was dealing with when she wrote about how Kirkendoll was appointed to a $53,000-a-year job as southern West Virginia constituency coordinator by Governor Bob Wise, despite the fact that he was among a mob that attacked Ken Hechler and others who were commemorating the Battle of Blair Mountain (She was there with Hechler's group when the attack took place).
In the May 2001 edition of E-Notes, Forman gave us some background on Kirkendoll:
According to a Charleston Gazette editorial, "Kirkendoll is a courthouse politico who has managed to get jobs in Democratic and Republican administrations alike. Back in the late 1980s, corrupt Gov. Arch Moore put Kirkendoll on the state payroll working for the Department of Energy. But DOE's Logan chief told reporters he didn't know what Kirkendoll's job was." In 1998, Kirkendoll, unemployed, except for his part-time commissioner's job, was hired by State Treasurer John Perdue. Kirkendoll made $25,000 a year to be a "local government specialist," whatever that is.
Following all the citizen pressure and media attention about the appointment, Wise changed the name of Kirkendoll's position to "southern coordinator" for addressing constituent services. Whatever that is.
So, basically we have a guy who has a history of using political ties to get cushy jobs, where he does...nothing. And now he wants West Virginia officials to also do nothing, as far as preparing the state for a diverse economic future.
The issue, with Forman's account of the attack and controversy, is well worth going back and reading. |
