West Virginia Blue
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The Democrats have a strong field for the Special Election for Governor. All of the candidates have weaknesses and strengths but who should Democrats support? Let's briefly take a look at the field.
Natalie Tennant- Surrounds herself with progressive minded staff; not part of political establishment; seems open to new ideas; seems to be supported by a lot of progressives smarter than this hill billy; not a proven fundraiser; some question whether she is ready; highest likability of all Dems; superb communicator; polls high; has won statewide office and been in public eye for years
John Perdue- Democratic loyalist; won statewide office for years; deep ties to Democratic county commissions; mediocre communicator; may split votes in south; proven fundraiser; likely the best ground game; will be supported by some key labor progressives; early polls have him behind Tomblin and Tennant; too close to coal
Rick Thompson- Compelling life story; supported by key labor groups; built strong support with key Democratic constituencies around State; poor name recognition with general public; proven fundraiser; too close to coal; loathed by Chamber of Commerce (good thing for progressives but probably bad for Thompson); not sure can be Republican; not taken on tough progressive issues because of politics; may split votes in South; unable to really campaign until after Session; runs low in polls
Jeff Kessler- has taken up tough progressive issues; unproven fundraiser; low name recognition; will be unable to really campaign until after Session; helped ouster anti progressive Dems from Senate leadership; runs low in polls; good debater and knows issues; good communicator
Earl Ray Tomblin- head start as act as governor; has money advantage; has support of Manchin machine; mediocre communicator; close ties to unsavory characters like Ferrel the felon; closest ties to coal goons of all candidates; polls have him ahead; most conservative of all candidates; will likely get support of Chamber of Commerce; first on ballot; may split vote in South; angered some by pretending to be governor and trying to block election; proven fundraiser
Sen. Gillibrand has harsh words for those, like Rep. Rahall (WV-03) who support US House bill HR3. Her admonishment equally applies to Jeff Kessler's ill-conceived SB443.
With the WV Senate starting up this week, I thought it would be interesting to take a look at how this year's leadership stacks up to last years.
With Senate President Earl Ray Tomblin now serving as Acting Gov., and Jeff Kessler now serving as Acting Senate President, there has been a major shift in committee chairs (full list of 79th and 80th Senate chairs and co-chairs here) (PDF). Here are the major Dem. leadership positions, the committee chairs, and the county of residence of each Senator.
It's a little bit easier to follow on a map. Here's the one for the 79th Senate under Tomblin.
The first thing I notice about the 79th Senate (Tomblin's) is it was heavy with committee chairs from the Southern part of the state with strong representation from the North as well.
In the 80th Senate (Kessler's), there's an even better regional balance. The biggest difference, though, is that the 80th Senate is more concentrated with committee chairs from larger counties whereas the 79th Senate had more from coal producing ones.
In the 80th Senate, 15 of the 22 majority leadership positions come from the 17 most populous counties in the state (65% of the population).
In the 79th Senate, 14 of the 22 majority leadership positions came from the 19 highest coal producing counties (48% of the state's population).
Sen. Jeff Kessler has named his leadership team for when he becomes acting Senate president:
Sen. Jeff Kessler told The Associated Press that he's chosen Berkeley County Sen. John Unger as his majority leader, Sen. Richard Browning of Wyoming County as majority whip, and Sen. Brooks McCabe of Kanawha County for president pro tempore.
A Northern Panhandle lawmaker, Kessler said he's assembled a team from different parts of the state to keep the Democrats unified heading into a 60-day regular session that begins Jan. 12. He touted each of Tuesday's choices, noting their interest in public policy. He also cited McCabe's "idea of where our finances are and where we want to go."
"(Unger) has great command of parliamentary procedures," Kessler added. "He's also very interested in policy initiatives."
Sen. Jeff Kessler said a leaked copy of the proposed rule change that will let him take charge of the Senate was bogus and did not reflect the changes approved by a majority of Democratic members.
Most Democratic senators now favor amending their rules to create the position of an acting president to lead the body while Senate President Earl Ray Tomblin serves as acting governor.
Current Senate rules call for the Senate president pro tempore, a Tomblin appointee, to lead in his absence.
The majority senators view the change as necessary to avoid any constitutional challenges to legislation that might arise if Tomblin were to be seen as running both the executive branch and Senate simultaneously.
While senators had been discussing and publicly disagreeing over the rule change in recent weeks, the actual wording of the proposed change had yet to be revealed.
[snip]
When asked about the leaked rule change Thursday, Kessler quickly debunked it.
"The West Virginia Blue-posted proposed rule was inaccurate and bogus in that such a proposal was never presented nor considered by the Democratic caucus," he said.
"I suspect it has been floated merely as an attempt to create more false innuendo about what actually occurred in the caucus."
Kessler then e-mailed a legitimate copy of the proposed rule change to the Daily Mail.
"I believed then and continue to believe that the Democratic caucus-approved rules, which establish an acting president in very limited circumstance, provide a clean and clear separation-of- powers firewall between the executive branch - acting Gov. Tomblin - and the legislative branch of the Senate," Kessler said.
Kessler said the idea of members of the Senate voting to choose who would lead the body in the absence of a president is nothing new.
He said the last time West Virginia had an acting governor - when Gov. Arthur Boreman became a U.S. senator in 1869, elevating Senate President Daniel Farnsworth to acting governor - the Senate members voted to pick a leader in Farnsworth's absence.
"Sticking with historical precedent helps provide the current and future legislatures a clear path to follow which is both predictable and consistent with fundamental constitutional principles," Kessler said.
[snip]
While the majority of Democrats voted in favor of the rule change in caucus, the changes still must be approved by a majority of the full Senate, including its six Republicans, when the legislative session convenes Jan. 12.
There's even more details worth reading in the article (like some more nitty-gritty on the Senate pro tempore position), but I don't want to over-quote the article. Click on the link and give it a read.
Whatever the motives for the leak may have been, and I'm a still a bit perplexed by that myself, it did at least shake loose a copy of the proposed rule changes as well as this substantive article by Jared Hunt on the process.
MOUNDSVILLE, WV - West Virginia State Senator Jeff Kessler (D - Marshall) adamantly denies that his call on Acting Governor Earl Ray Tomblin (D-Logan) to honor the will of the majority of the Democratic caucus is a power play of any kind.
During a Democratic caucus earlier this month, a convincing majority of members voted to adopt Senate Rules, which would permit the caucus to elect an Acting Senate President as its presiding officer. It nominated Senator Kessler to serve in this role.
"The fact that I may be a candidate in a future race does not have anything to do with the current desire of the Senate Democratic Caucus to elect me Acting Senate President, " Kessler said. "I declared my 2012 Governor's exploratory efforts nearly two years ago, well before any of these historic events occurred. This is nothing more than an attempt to divert attention from the real issue: maintaining a clear separation of powers between the Governor's office and the Senate."
Acting Governor Tomblin's vow to remove himself from any formal action in the Senate clearly establishes the need for senate members to choose a new leader.
Those opposing Senator Kessler as Acting President have stated that one of their primary goals is to preserve the long-standing rules of the Senate. However, for the first time since the 19th century, a sitting Senate President has been called upon to become Acting Governor. In order to preserve a separation of powers, the Senate must be able to vote for one of its participating members to serve as Acting President. The drafters of the West Virginia Constitution separated powers for a reason, namely, because they understood that government works best when there is a system of checks and balances between branches of government.
As to allegations that this is an attempt for Senator Kessler to make the Senate a more liberal house of the Legislature, this is yet another diversion from the real issue of separation of powers. Senator Kessler has in many respects a strong pro-business record. Among other things, Senator Kessler wrote the medical malpractice reform legislation and helped advance much needed workers' compensation and venue reform legislation.
"Some of my opponents are attempting to grossly mischaracterize my record," said Kessler. "I find it even more troubling when some allegations surround my proud record as a litigation attorney. Some of my critics are trial lawyers themselves. My legislative record speaks for itself and I am beholden to no one. I have taken on the left, the center and the right when they are on the wrong side of the issues, and I will continue to do so."
Now is the time for the Senate to come together. This situation can easily be remedied by respecting the wishes of a convincing majority of Senate Democrats from all over the state, to have the right, to elect its leader."
Today state Senator Jeff Kessler (D-Marshall) called on acting Governor Earl Ray Tomblin (D-Logan) to publicly announce his support of the clear and decisive will of the majority of the members of the Democratic caucus as expressed by their votes taken on December 13th.
In a closed door meeting between Tomblin and Kessler on December 16th, Tomblin agreed to issue a public acknowledgement of his support for the caucus decision; however to date, none has issued. " I ask that the acting Governor come forward now to clearly and unequivocally clarify his position" Kessler states.
During a long caucus with spirited debate, a majority of members (by a vote of 16- 12) voted to support the adoption of Senate Rules which will permit the members of the Senate to elect, rather than Tomblin appoint, a presiding officer to lead the body. The members further voted to elect Kessler to serve in the role of "acting President" assuming Tomblin is chosen as President which would trigger his immediate departure from the Senate floor.
Those numbers have now grown to a 17 to 11 advantage among caucus members who support the "right to vote" position. Kessler's supporters are adamant in their "right to vote" for the Senate leader who will actually guide the 80th Legislature which begins on January 12th.
The majority's position will preserve and protect the West Virginia Constitution by eliminating any potential for the exercise of control over the Senate--one of the two legislative branches-- by the executive branch of acting Governor Tomblin. Kessler maintains that such consolidation of power in the hands of one individual is improper, unprecedented and unconstitutional.
Kessler states "That by a convincing margin, the caucus has spoken. We won this vote "fair and square. It is now time for the non prevailing Democrat members and leaders to acknowledge those results, join together and permit the Senate to organize in preparation to serve our citizens during the upcoming legislative session. West Virginia has a sad and storied history of election shenanigans whereby the losers have attempted to reverse, manipulate and/or steal an election. Those days have no place in West Virginia politics ever again! The future of West Virginia depends on an honest and courageous break from any past practices that have only served to stigmatize and hold us back! It is a New Day in West Virginia and the principled members of the caucus who have bravely stood up are ready, able and willing to take West Virginia to the next level. "It is not only our time," Kessler says "Its high time to do so."
Update: For those who haven't been following this story day to day, here's the best I can figure out what's going on.
The position of Senate president is important because they pick the committee chairs and have huge influence on what pieces of legislation end up being voted on.
The current Senate rules have the Sen. president (now acting Gov.) picking the 2nd in command (now acting Sen. president). With no elected Gov. in WV, that leaves a lot of power over two branches of govt. in the hands of a single person.
The Dem. caucus came up with a solution of having the 2nd in command--who will be serving as acting Sen. president--voted on by entire caucus rather hand-picked by Sen. president.
Whenever a caucus leader ignores the will of the majority of their caucus, they risk a leadership battle. The stakes now are higher than usual.
If Tomblin loses the support of too many Dem caucus members, it is possible that someone else could be elected as Senate President when the leg. convenes, thus putting someone else in the position of acting Gov.
Further Update: Someone asked me the best way to express their opinion on this topic. Contact Tomblin's office:
Room 227M, Building 1
State Capitol Complex
Charleston, WV 25305
* I beginning to think that State Sen. Jeff Kessler is going out of his way to lose progressive votes. His latest effort along those lines is an op-ed called Cap and trade will punch W.Va.
Rockefeller on Byrd: "Rockefeller expressed his support for the "bold statement" U.S.
Senator Robert C. Byrd D-W.Va., made in an opinion piece titled "Coal Must Embrace the Future." Byrd points out in his writing that "most Americans" oppose mountaintop mining, as do most people in congress. He also said that coal producer...s can't continue to deny the "mounting science of climate change."Rockefeller said statements by coal industry leaders in southern West Virginia are "scaring the heck out of people, and added: "We've got to get on a positive track in West Virginia."
Students at Berkeley Springs High School are wearing t-shirts to the school that read:
"What Would Jesus Do? Single Payer. Health Care for All. Everybody in. Nobody Out."
The group is also running ads in the local newspaper - the Morgan Messenger - and on the local country music radio station - WDHC. (See newspaper ad here. Listen to radio ad here.)
Cowles sent out an e-mail yesterday to his list arguing that "the debate over big government health care, big government taxes, big government control, and big government deficits has no place in our school learning environment."
The students' single payer action has drawn some local attention - including an article in Tuesday's Martinsburg Journal.
Cowles says in his e-mail that "political protest in favor of big government health care (is) coming to Berkeley Springs High School despite school policy."
Cowles does not explain what high school policy prohibits students from expressing their free speech rights.
"It's something I have an interest in," Tomblin said Tuesday in his state capitol office. "I take a great deal of pride in the changes we've made in this state and if the opportunity arises and the right people get behind me I would really consider running for governor."
The Logan County Democrat also has the title of the state's Lieutenant Governor and if Gov. Manchin would leave his office before his term is over, Tomblin would become governor. "When you sit in this seat here it's one that you never know from day to day that you may get the call," he said.
MetroNews mentions two other possible candidates, one unannounced but and one already announced.
House Speaker Rick Thompson is holding fund raisers across the state, but hasn't announced yet. He was in Martinsburg on Friday for what I was told was a good fundraiser. So far he's held fundraisers with two of Berkeley County's most prominent Democratic supporters, Butch Pennington and John Fink. I was invited to both events, but wasn't able to make them due to scheduling conflicts.
Senate Judiciary Chairman Jeff Kessler is the only announced candidate and is a favorite of at least two West Virginia Blue regulars and has a lot of good qualities. If he makes it out to the Eastern Panhandle, someone drop me a line because I'd like to meet him. Same with any other of our gubernatorial candidates.
Other potential gubernatorial candidates whose names I've heard bandied about for governor in 2012 are State Auditor Glen B. Gainer III and State Treasurer John Perdue, both of whom would have to be considered strong contenders.
One person to watch is the popular Secretary of State Natalie Tennant. She's played it coy so far, but there is a long way to go until 2012.
While neither Alan Mollohan or Nick Rahall are going to want to give up their safe House of Representative seats where they have considerable seniority and clout, but the GOP's best shot at winning the governor's race would come from the House of Representatives, Republican Rep. Shelley Moore Capito. That's one of the big questions in West Virginia politics. The Republicans are going to want her to run so they have a viable, legitimate candidate this time. But the feckless Capito has ducked GOP recruitment efforts to run for U.S. Senate. Capito wants to be governor or senator, but fears losing her safe House seat.
All of them are invited to post here, the meeting ground for many in the netroots.
Alison Knezevich of the Charleston Gazette has a good story on what the Supreme Court's ruling in the Bought and Paid for Justice case means to those of us who want judicial reform.
During the session that ended in April, the Legislature took up -- but did not pass -- several bills on campaign finances.
One would have created a pilot program to publicly finance candidates in the 2012 state Supreme Court race. That was pulled from the Senate Finance Committee's agenda after committee Chairman Walt Helmick, D-Pocahontas, said it could interfere with Gov. Joe Manchin's proposed Independent Commission on Judicial Reform.
Another would have clarified which groups that run election advertisements must file campaign finance reports, though Republicans said it unfairly targeted certain advocacy groups. That measure passed the House, but later died in the Senate Judiciary Committee.
In May, West Virginia Citizens for Clean Elections unsuccessfully urged Manchin to address the public-financing bill during the May special session, said Julie Archer, a lobbyist for the group.
"Maybe this ruling from the Supreme Court will make him reconsider that," Archer said.
Let's hope so. It would have been best to have had reforms in place before the Supreme Court's decision so our state's reputation would not be tarnished further by Brent Benjamin's poor judgment.
Still, those leading the efforts for reform are hopeful - at least more optimistic than an old cynic like me.
"If you can't disclose the identity of the donor, how can you determine whether a conflict exists?" Kessler asked. "I think it's important for people to be able to track money from the get-go."
The governor believes "everything should be on the table" when it comes to changes in the judicial system, said Manchin spokesman Matt Turner.
"[Kessler's] ideas are a part of the many things that he wants that study commission to consider," Turner said.
So far, no appointments to the nine-person commission have been announced. The Manchin administration is "working in earnest" on the appointments and plans to announce them soon, Turner said.
Sen. Jeff Kessler's effort to keep individuals from buying elections in West Virginia did not make it through committee, but he's not giving up on trying to clean up the election system:
Senate Judiciary Chairman Jeff Kessler wants to revive legislation that died in his committee during the recent regular session.
The failed bill marked the latest effort to at least limit spending by corporations that directly target specific candidates. It also furthered attempts to require financial disclosures from independent groups and individuals that single out candidates with election-time advertising.
snip
Lawmakers plan to return next month to pass a new state budget. The Marshall County Democrat hopes the measure joins the special session agenda that Gov. Joe Manchin plans to present then.
"I've floated the idea with the Senate president of taking another run at it during the special session,'' Kessler said Friday. "Since it's such a narrow and focused attempt, it seems silly for us not to do it.''
We need clean and fair elections. When you get a coal baron dumping millions to buy a Supreme Court seat for a judge to review pending cases and then attempt to buy handpicked candidates for the state legislature, there's a problem. When you get pro-discrimination groups against gay people making robocalls without identifying who is making the calls, there's a problem.
We need more transparency to our electoral process at all levels.
Sen. Jeff Kessler(D-Marshall County), chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, has filed to run for governor in 2012. Clem and I talked about the pluses and minuses of it yesterday, but I want to hear what you think of him as a statewide candidate, and his work in the legislature.
Neither of the news accounts has much on his background. You can find out more about him here on ProjectVoteSmart and more importantly his stance on issues from the Political Courage Test. Kudos to him for taking it.
He's been mentioned here a lot of late due to his role as a sponsor of SB 238, and was key in it passing the Senate.
He won his Northern Panhandle District in a landslide, but I don't think his work as chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, while a powerful and important job in Charleston, gives much name recognition statewide.
He also is among those who endorsed then Sen. Barack Obama for president.
As I said, I've got my thoughts, but I'd rather hear yours.
Phil Kabler of the Charleston Gazette also talks to delegates at the convention.
First-time convention-goer Sen. Jeff Kessler, D-Marshall, said he was impressed with the events of first night of the convention.
"It was very moving and powerful," Kessler said Tuesday. "Seeing Sen. [Ted] Kennedy give his speech, given his health conditions, was outstanding."
Also a Clinton delegate, Kessler said he is hopeful that Obama will be able to unify the party this week.
"Given the narrowing of the gap in the polls, it's going to be a dogfight," Kessler said of the general election race against Sen. John McCain.
Kessler said he believes that Obama can carry West Virginia - if he runs an aggressive campaign in the state.
"I believe he needs to make some strategic and well-placed visits to the state," Kessler said.
That's what we've been saying for months. If Obama campaigns here (and let's be honest he didn't really in the primary where he was out spent 3-to-1 and out stumped 10-to-1) he'll win here.
In early June the Rasmussen poll showed Obama down by 7 to McCain here. Last I heard an internal poll showed Obama down by just 5. As PDAWV reported earlier, the WV campaign has been moved from Tier 3 to the more competitive Tier 2, meaning we'll get 15 22 staffers instead of just two or three.
But the real key is who we get here. If Obama spends time in the state - and with Virginia a battleground as well he should be able to invest the time here and there - or if we get Sen. Hillary Clinton working her magic again in West Virginia, this time for Obama, we'll make it a contest. We don't even have to win here (be nice if we did). We just have to keep it contested enough that McCain keeps spending money and time in WV - resources he won't have for other states - when this state, after 2000 and 2004, should be a given for him.
But let's be honest. The WV GOP doesn't like McCain. He finished far in the back at their GOP convention.
The issue comes down are West Virginians going to vote in their own interests or are they going to buy another false bill of goods from the Republicans? If they wake up to the fact that for all their talk of family values the GOP has shown that's only talk and the thing they truly value is getting rich off the backs of the working class, then we'll win. Obama and Clinton can help bring West Virginia back into the Democratic folds. But they need to spend time here and not just money to make that case.
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When asked about the leaked rule change Thursday, Kessler quickly debunked it.
