OPINION: WV Republicans Condemn Senate Appointment

"One man and one vote is a tenant of our democracy, even here in West Virginia," said West Virginia Republican Chairman Conrad Lucas. "In our party, when we replace Senators or Delegates, the process is fair and predictable following the letter of West Virginia Code. What reportedly happened in Flatwoods denies democracy by violating public meetings laws. Individuals chose to cheat the process and Democracy by voting multiple times for the same candidate."

 

The meeting to nominate the new Senator may have occurred with insufficient public notice, with candidates denied the right to attend or speak on their own behalf, and with Senatorial committee members allowed to vote repeatedly for the same candidate on the same ballot.    Harrison County Board of Education President and community leader Michael Queen sought nomination. He reportedly will seek remedies via legal means, according to the state press and his own writings on social media.   The alleged improper votes reportedly prevented Queen, a former elected member of the House of Delegates, from being one of three nominees presented to the Governor.

 

"West Virginia voters deserve to have political parties that obey WV Code, their own party rules and the spirit of democracy," said Lucas. "It's a real tragedy that the West Virginia Republican Party has to come to the aid of citizens of the Twelfth Senatorial District because the Democrat Party refuses to run a clean and open election process."

 

This is the second of three open seats in the West Virginia Senate that will go through this appointment process. The results of the nominating committee to replace Fake Farmer and new Agriculture Commissioner Walt Helmick are pending.