May 7, 2006
 
Q & A WITH CAROL MILLER: Priority Items : Tax Reform, Economic Development, Funding MU Comparably to WVU
 
By Tony Rutherford
Huntington News Network Writer
 
Huntington, WV (HNN) -- Carol Miller first ran for the House of Delegates in 2004. She currently owns a property management business and raises buffalo in Cabell County. Ms. Miller has served on the Republican Executive Committee and the Huntington-Cabell Republican Women. She has volunteered for the Musical Arts Guild and served on the Yeager Scholars Board.
 
Miller seeks election in District 15.
 
HNN: Could you tell us about legislative issues in the state about which you feel strongly?
 
MILLER: Economic development, tax reform, good transportation in and around the Tri- State, a good basic education, and funding Marshall University similarly to West Virginia University.
 
HNN: Would you favor a law school at MU
 
MILLER: Yes, but not at the expense of the [programs] we’re getting off the ground right now.
 
HNN: Could you be specific on your support of education
 
MILLER: I think we need to consistently raise the bar. I also believe in good vocational and community college education. I think more money belongs in the locally in the schools rather than in Charleston. We need more control in our own community.
 
HNN: The City of Huntington is lobbying the legislature for help with pension fund shortfalls, where would you stand on this issue?
 
MILLER: I would support home rule in Huntington, that’s fine.
 
HNN: Do you favor preserving the Keith Albee?
 
MILLER: I think we need to get some good funding such as endowments and grants and do some real serious money raising locally as well. It’s not one of a kind, but almost. There are few of them left, I know in Columbus, they have the Ohio Theatre, but there are not many left . I was on the West Virginia Commission of the Arts . I was in the Musical Arts Guild for 30 some years . I am a strong supporter of the arts.
 
HNN: Specifically, what types of economic development would you favor?
 
MILLER: Economic development is about relationships, it’s about relationships with the government … it’s about tax reform. You need to have the same type of taxes as the states around us have. We should not have 9 percent when they have 6 percent. You have to have a level playing field…. The business franchise tax and the food tax need to be examined.
 
We need to be as cohesive as we can to promote our area from the local level to our congress people. We need to do it in the legislature, we need to do it here [locally], we need to work together as a unit and make it happen.
 
HNN: Where would you stand on tax incentives to studio filmmakers
 
MILLER: It makes sense, but if we have a good tax structure in the first place we would not have to bend over backwards to get these people. A good tax structure makes jobs happen. It brings business in and spreads out like a giant spider web or throwing a rock in a pool. For instance, one job begets another. For instance, things are going to happen in bio-tech.