Brooks McCabe names key staffers from the late Sen. Robert C. Byrd for his gubernatorial bid:
Still, he seems to have the support of the so-called South Hills crowd, and if his $20,000-plus fundraiser at the state Business Summit earlier this month is any indication, he could emerge as the favorite of the business community.
From their perspective, he could be a viable alternative to hopefuls such as Rick Thompson (too union), Jeff Kessler (too liberal) or Earl Ray Tomblin (too Southern West Virginia).
As a senator, McCabe has fearlessly jumped into impossible -- and impossibly complex -- issues such as workers' compensation privatization and addressing the massive future deficits for retiree health care. (Whenever there's a Herculean issue facing the Senate, it seems that Tomblin puts either McCabe or Sen. Dan Foster, D-Kanawha, in charge of dealing with it.)
Meanwhile, McCabe has been generating positive press in north-central West Virginia as a commercial developer for his contributions to revitalize downtown Fairmont, including the Veterans' Square development project. (Those efforts were recently recognized with Fairmont winning the 2010 Great American Main Street Award from the National Trust for Historic Preservation.)
In a statewide race, if you can lock up the Kanawha Valley and north-central West Virginia, you're about two-thirds of the way home ...
I hope to have details soon on McCabe's upcoming swing through the Eastern Panhandle.
Update
Sen. Brooks McCabe will be in the Eastern Panhandle this week visiting friends and meeting local residents. Brooks is eager to hear your thoughts on issues you believe are most important to you and to all West Virginians.
THURSDAY, SEPT 16
6:30pm - Jefferson County Democrat Headquarters
115 W. Washington St., Charles Town
Drop by for a visit with Brooks McCabe - everyone invited!
7:00pm Third Thursday - Charles Town
Brooks will visit Third Thursday block party happenings
FRIDAY, SEPT 17
8:40am - WRNR Eastern Panhandle Talk
Sen. McCabe will talk live with Matt Miller on AM 740
10:30am - The Daily Grind
778 Foxcroft Ave, Martinsburg
Sen. McCabe extends a public invitation to area young professionals to drop by for coffee and chat about the issues they believe are most important to folks in the Eastern Panhandle
SATURDAY, SEPT 18
10:30am - Washington Family Home Tours
Brooks will take the Washington Family Home Tour, which begins on North Warren Street - Charles Town. Brooks has know some of these homes since childhood, and his family roots are in the Eastern Panhandle
1:00pm - Charles Town Heritage Days Award Ceremony
There's also a good chance he'll stop by the Mecklenberg Inn in Shepherdstown at 8 p.m. Friday for Drinking Liberally's new location and time.
With Democrats doing better in the Eastern Panhandle in recent election cycles, look for more Democratic candidates to visit this end of the state more than in the past and recognize they're running to represent the State of West Virginia and not the State of Kanawha Valley. |
