Dave Mistich, Author at West Virginia Public Broadcasting

Raleigh Co. Delegate Mick Bates Switches From Democrat To Republican, Extends GOP Supermajority

Del. Mick Bates of Raleigh County has switched from Democrat to Republican, further strengthening the GOP’s stronghold at the West Virginia statehouse. According to a Wednesday news release, Bates changed his party affiliation at the Raleigh County Courthouse Wednesday morning.

In a statement, Bates noted the dramatic increase in Republican voter registrations in Raleigh County — a 30 percent swing in the last three years — as part of the motivation for his party affiliation change.

According to data from the West Virginia Secretary of State’s office, Republicans outnumber Democrats in the state 433,287 to 408,572. In Raleigh County, which includes the district Bates represents, 18,668 Republicans outnumber the 15,272 registered Democrats.

He also pointed to public perception of national politics and what he sees as the West Virginia Democratic Party aligning more closely with prominent national Democrats.

“There used to be a difference between the way West Virginia Democrats and Washington Democrats were viewed. People no longer see that difference,” Bates said. “At a national level, the controlling interests and leadership of the Democratic Party continue to pursue positions that alienate voters in rural parts of the country and do not reflect the priorities, values or beliefs of the people of West Virginia. This is not changing and appears to be getting worse, not better.”

At times during the 2021 legislative session, Bates would vote with the majority on controversial proposals, including a bill that restricts transgender girls and women from playing on sports teams based on their gender identity and a rollback of abortion rights.

In a statement, House Speaker Roger Hanshaw, R-Clay, welcomed Bates — a physical therapist who owns Bodyworks in Beckley — to the majority.

“Mick has always been a pro-business delegate, and we certainly welcome his credentials and his experience as a small business owner to the party,” Hanshaw said. “This is an unprecedented time for the House of Delegates, with the largest Republican majority the state has ever seen, and as we continue to do the work of making West Virginia the easy choice for people and businesses to call home, the Republican Party will only continue to grow.”

Bates’ switch strengthens an already powerful Republican supermajority in the lower chamber that has gained increasing numbers since taking over after the 2014 election. The GOP will now hold 78 seats, while Democrats will have 22 seats in the 100-member House.

In a tweet, the West Virginia Republican Party also applauded Bates for the move to their side of the aisle.

“Democrat Delegate Mick Bates, a member of the West Virginia House of Delegates, representing District 30, today announced he has changed his party affiliation to Republican! Welcome to the Republican Party!”

First elected to the House of Delegates in 2014, Bates has served in a variety of notable roles for his caucus — having been minority chair of the House Finance Committee and chair of the West Virginia House Democratic Legislative Committee.

When then-House Minority Leader Tim Miley, D-Harrison chose not to run for reelection in 2020, the top spot in the caucus went up for grabs. Bates ran to lead the House minority, but Democrats ultimately chose Del. Doug Skaff of Kanawha County.

Skaff pointed to the contentious race for minority leader — and possible further political aspirations — as Bates’ likely motivation to switch parties.

“He did not believe that he could win as a Democrat, so he decided that he would leave the Democratic Party,” Skaff said. “Delegate Bates must have decided that now is the right time for him to turn his back on the constituents who elected him to prioritize his future political ambitions. He is more focused on the next election than the next generation of West Virginians.”

House Democrats, including Del. Shawn Fluharty, D-Ohio, offered scathing criticisms of Bates for the decision to leave the party.

“Bates just served as Democratic Party House Caucus Chair. We went from 41 members to 23 under his leadership. Then he ran to be Minority Leader. Lost. Now he’s switching parties. What a profile in courage,” Fluharty said in a tweet.

West Virginia Democratic Party Chair Belinda Biafore called Bates’ departure “surprising and disappointing.”

“It seems Delegate Bates has public service confused with self-service. Delegate Bates has propped himself up on Democratic ideals and his constituency put their faith in him. He’s turning his back on them,” Biafore said. “It’s odd but telling that someone who is so outspoken against the majority party has decided to join them to benefit himself politically.”

As Bates noted in the statement accompanying news of his party change, he is not the only Democrat to have recently switched registrations.

Less than a month after the 2020 general election, Del. Jason Barrett of Berkeley County made the switch from Democrat to Republican, citing his desire to be more effective for constituents in his district.

At the time, Barrett also mentioned Bates by name — as well as the contentious race for minority leader — as part of his own motivations for leaving the Democratic Party.

VA Report Cites ‘Serious, Pervasive And Deep-Rooted’ Failures At Clarksburg Medical Center As Mays Is Sentenced To 7 Life Terms

A report was released Tuesday outlining a long list of failures at the Louis A. Johnson VA Medical Center in Clarksburg, West Virginia that led to the deaths of at least seven men.

The report, from the U.S. Department of Veteran’s Affairs Office of Inspector General, was released on the same day 46-year-old Reta Mays was sentenced to seven consecutive life terms plus 20 years for the killings of the veterans, states that Mays bears the ultimate responsibility for the murders — but also notes missteps by leaders of the facility.

“The OIG found that the facility had serious, pervasive, and deep-rooted clinical and administrative failures that contributed to Ms. Mays’s criminal actions not being identified and stopped earlier,” the report states. “The failures occurred in virtually all the critical functions and areas required to promote patient safety and prevent avoidable adverse events at the facility.”

As she accepted a plea deal in July, Mays admitted to seven counts of second-degree murder and one count of assault with intent to murder the veterans. She unnecessarily administered insulin to the men, causing sudden hypoglycemic events that ultimately led to their deaths.

Investigators with the Office of Inspector General concluded in the report that there were deficiencies in the hiring of Mays, the evaluation of her performance, the management and security of medication, clinical evaluations of the at-the-time unexplained hypoglycemic events, the reporting and response to the events, as well as the response and corrective actions taken by leadership of the facility.

At a news conference following Mays’ sentencing, VA Inspector General Michael Missal pointed out that the former nursing assistant won an award for her work, but should not have — noting one of the many missed opportunities to identify the issues that came up over the course of her tenure at the facility.

“She actually received a Secretary’s Award for Excellence in 2017,” Missal said. “As part of receiving that award, they were required to go back to make sure that her background check had been done. They checked it had, when it actually hadn’t.”

West Virginia’s two U.S. Senators — Democrat Joe Manchin and Republican Shelley Moore Capito — both made comments Tuesday to news media about the report’s findings.

“I just think there’s just an absolute lack of accountability — or total lack of accountability — of the Clarksburg VA. There’s no other way to put it,” said Manchin, a member of the Senate’s Committee on Veterans’ Affairs, during a Tuesday conference call with reporters. “The people that have been in charge there should no longer be in the VA system, as far as I’m concerned, with the total disrespect they had for the well-being [and] welfare of our veterans. And I think that shows up loud and clear in the OIG’s report.”

Manchin noted that he was unable to disclose many details about the VA hospital until the investigation had concluded.

“The shackles are off and I can guarantee you we’re going after them hard, very hard,” he said.

In a statement released Tuesday, Capito also expressed concern over the report, which she described as “devastating.”

“The failures at the Clarksburg VAMC outlined within this report are absolutely unacceptable,” Capito said. “The findings show a collapse of administrative and clinical responsibility that has led to unimaginable consequences, which makes it clear that updated policy and procedure is desperately needed.”

Capito said she is committed to seeing to it that the recommendations included in the report are implemented and that leaders at the VA are held accountable for the failures that took place.

“Our veterans in West Virginia deserve the highest level of care possible, but they also need to be able to trust that they will be safe and protected under the care at our VAMC facilities,” she added.

According to the report, the OIG made recommendations across various departments and functions of the facility in question and the agency at large, aimed to enhance patient safety — including medical chart audits, checks and balances within pharmacy quality assurance processes and quality management reviews.

Wesley Walls, a spokesman for the Louis A. Johnson VA Medical Center, issued a statement expressing a need to rebuild the trust of veterans seeking care at the facility.

“While this matter involving an isolated employee does not represent the quality health care tens of thousands of North Central West Virginia Veterans have come to expect from our facility, it has prompted a number of improvements that will strengthen our continuity of care and prevent similar issues from happening in the future,” Walls said.

Walls said recommendations are currently being implemented and will be complete by March 2022.

Reta Mays, Guilty Of Murdering Veterans Hospitalized In West Virginia, Gets Seven Life Sentences Plus 20 Years

Updated Tuesday, May 11, 2021 at 2:00 p.m.

A former nursing assistant who admitted to murdering veterans at a Clarksburg, West Virginia hospital will spend the rest of her natural life behind bars.

Reta Mays, 46 of Reyondsville, West Virginia, was handed seven life sentences plus 20 years during a sentencing hearing on Tuesday.

Mays admitted in July to seven counts of second-degree murder and one count of assault with intent to murder veterans seeking care at the Louis A. Johnson VA Medical Center. According to prosecutors, Mays unnecessarily injected veterans with insulin, causing sudden hypoglycemic events that ultimately led to the deaths.

During a Tuesday sentencing hearing, Judge Thomas Kleeh heard from family members of victims, attorneys for both the prosecution and the defense, and Mays herself.

Prosecutors said more than 30 family members of victims joined the hearing in the courtroom and others joined through a video conference set up by the court. Some victims’ families offered gut-wrenching statements to the court — both in person and through prepared video.

Many expressed being unable to forgive Mays, including Robert Edge Jr., the son of 82-year-old Navy veteran Robert Edge, who submitted a video message to the court.

“You murdered my father without cause or reason,” Edge said in the video. “As you hear my words, I want them to play in your mind over and over and over again till the day you die. And by dying — I mean by any means possible — including taking your life with your own hands.”

Melanie Proctor, the daughter of 82-year-old Army veteran Felix McDemott, spoke in the courtroom.

“You took some of the greatest men of their time — our loved ones, our veterans — and you preyed on them when they were at their weakest,” Proctor said. “For that, you are a coward. If you have any morals at all, you will give the other families the peace of mind of knowing the truth of what happened to their loved ones. May God forgive you, as I never will.”

Mays worked the overnight shift at the hospital, often unsupervised, from 2015 to 2018. While speaking briefly during Tuesday’s hearing, she offered no explanation for committing the killings.

“There’s no words I can say that would offer any comfort. I can only say I’m sorry for the pain I caused the families and my family,” Mays said as she wept. “I don’t ask for forgiveness, because I don’t think I can forgive anyone for doing what I did.”

Jay McCamic, defense attorney for Mays, outlined a long history of mental illness and trauma that she suffered during her own time in the military while serving in Iraq in 2003 and 2004.

McCamic said Mays suffered from post-traumatic stress disorder and military sexual trauma that occurred during her time served, and asked the court to sentence her to 30 years.

“Many, many people ask why, why did Reta do this?” McCamic said to the court. “Most people want to have a nice, linear story applied to the conspiracy, a unified motive of why someone would set upon the idea of taking the life of others and go forth with that idea. Unfortunately, why is not a question that can be answered here. Reta doesn’t know why. Her family doesn’t know why.”

Assistant U.S. Attorney Jarod Douglas read the names of Mays’ victims — who also included Robert Lee Kozul Sr., 89; Archie D. Edgell, 84; William Holloway, 96; George Nelson Shaw Sr., 81; Raymond Golden, 88; and Russell R. Posey Sr., 92 — as he addressed the court.

“They are what today is all about,” Douglas said. “Judgment day has come.”

He called her actions “predatory and planned, not reactionary.”

“These men were not in need of mercy by the defendant. In the end it wasn’t the defendant’s call to make,” Douglas said.

While handing down the sentences, Kleeh acknowledged Mays’ mental health struggles throughout her life, but noted that the murders were calculated and intentional. He noted that over the course of the killings — which took place from 2017 to 2018 — Mays conducted internet searches on female serial killers and watched the Netflix series Nurses Who Kill.

Kleeh told Mays she was “not special” despite her mental health diagnosis and other struggles she had endured.

“Several times your counsel made the point that you shouldn’t be considered a monster,” Kleeh told her. “Respectfully, I disagree with that. You are the worst kind. You’re the monster that no one sees coming.”

Audit: Association of Smaller W.Va. Colleges And Universities Received $132,000 In Illegal Payments

Smaller and regional colleges and universities made $132,000 in illegal payments to an association that was created to lobby on their behalf, according to a legislative audit released Monday.

In 2013, the West Virginia Association of Regional Colleges and Universities was created as a 501(c)6 organization through the IRS and was registered with the West Virginia Secretary of State’s office in May 2014. The organization was exclusively comprised of college and university presidents, who are state employees.

The group — which included presidents of Bluefield State College, Concord University, Glenville State College, Shepherd University, West Liberty University and West Virginia State University — was dissolved in November 2015 after failing to submit annual filings and fees, which no longer authorized them to legally conduct business in West Virginia.

Despite the dissolution, the audit found the schools made $132,000 in unauthorized payments to the association between 2015 to 2021. At least $105,000 of those payments went toward lobbying on behalf of the schools.

Each of the participating colleges and universities made payments in varying amounts and took part in the association in different years.

Adam Fridley, manager of the West Virginia Legislative Auditor’s Office Post Audit Division, told members of the Legislature’s Post Audit’s Subcommittee that his office received word of the improper payments in March 2021 through the state Ethics Commission.

The Legislative Auditor’s office began investigating and contacted officials with the Secretary of State and Auditor’s office.

“Ultimately, based on our conversations with those two organizations, it appears that the significant difference in the way that the vendors names are listed in their respective systems contributed to the vendor not being flagged as non-compliant and allowed payment,” Fridley told the committee.

Fridley also noted that his office was confused that the association had been formed and was paying for a lobbyist when schools are not prohibited from doing so themselves under current law.

The Legislative Auditor office also determined that the West Virginia Higher Education Policy Commission also functions in a similar fashion as the West Virginia Association of Regional Colleges and Universities.

“Even if there was a need for one or more schools to procure lobbying services, we can’t really ascertain a good reason that it was done through a private association,” Fridley said.

While the Legislative Auditor offered no specific recommendations to the subcommittee, the report outlined statutory citations from other states that have enacted laws prohibiting taxpayer funds to be used for lobbying efforts, similar to a prohibition the Legislature enacted for professional and occupational licensing boards in 2019.

New Charges Added For Former W.Va. Lawmaker Involved In Jan. 6 U.S. Capitol Riots

Federal authorities have tacked on additional charges for a former West Virginia lawmaker involved in the Jan. 6 riots at the U.S. Capitol.

According to a federal information filed Monday, 36-year-old Derrick Evans, of Wayne County, now faces four counts. Charges include entering a restricted building, disorderly conduct, violent entry and demonstrating in a Capitol building.

Prior to Monday’s filing, Evans had only faced the first two charges.

An information is similar to an indictment, but typically indicates that a suspect is cooperating with investigators.

Evans was one of thousands of supporters of then-President Donald Trump who gathered on Capitol Hill to protest the results of the 2020 presidential election. At the time of the breach of the Capitol, lawmakers were certifying each state’s election results, thus declaring Joe Biden the winner.

In initial charging documents, federal officials said Evans live-streamed video of himself with a large group of protestors entering the Capitol.

“We’re in! We’re in! Derrick Evans is in the Capitol,” he says at one point during the video.

The Facebook page where Evans live-streamed his role in the insurrection has since been deleted, although copies of the video are widely available online.

In a separate Facebook post on the night of Jan. 6, Evans wrote that he did not have “negative interactions” with law enforcement and said he did not participate in “any destruction that may have occurred.”

He wrote that he was in D.C. “as an independent member of the media to film history.”

Evans is among other West Virginians charged for taking part in the violence on Capitol Hill.

George Tanios, of Morgantown, has pleaded not guilty to assault on a U.S. Capitol police officer. Former Parkersburg City Councilman Eric Barber has also pleaded not guilty to three counts related to entering the capitol building. Gracyn Courtright, a University of Kentucky student from Hurricane, pleaded not guilty for her role in the events. Jeffery Finley, of Martinsburg, was charged last month with entering a restricted building and disorderly conduct.

Just days after Jan. 6 — and before serving in the West Virginia Legislature — Evans resigned from his seat in the House of Delegates that he first won in the 2020 general election. In a Jan. 9 resignation letter to House Speaker Roger Hanshaw, R-Clay, Evans said he took responsibility for his role in the events at the U.S. Capitol.

“I hope this action I take today can remove any cloud of distraction from the state Legislature, so my colleagues can get to work in earnest building a brighter future for our state,” Evans wrote. “And more importantly, I hope it helps to begin the healing process, so we can all move forward and come together as ‘One Nation, Under God.’”

Correction: An earlier version of this story misstated Evans’ age as 35, not 36. That error has been corrected.

W.Va. Congressional Delegation Gets Varied Rankings In ‘Bipartisan Index,’ But Voting Records Tell A Different Story

West Virginia’s mostly Republican congressional delegation has varied rankings when it comes to their level of bipartisanship, according to an index evaluating the most recent class of federal lawmakers.

The Bipartisan Index from The Lugar Center at Georgetown University’s McCourt School of Public Policy measures how often a member of Congress introduces bills that attract co-sponsors from the other party and how often they co-sponsor a bill introduced from across the aisle.

The latest rankings, released Monday, evaluates the 116th Congress and its members in the U.S House of Representatives and Senate, which included Reps. David McKinley, Alex Mooney and Carol Miller, as well as Sens. Joe Manchin and Shelley Moore Capito.

“Although partisan combat between the parties and their leaderships reached a crescendo during the 116th Congress, individual members of Congress worked on legislation with their opposing party counterparts with surprising frequency,” said Lugar Center Policy Director Dan Diller. “The Bipartisan Index scores show that despite the embittered partisan climate, members still sought out bipartisan partnerships in the run-up to the 2020 election — usually below the radar of the national news cycle.”

McKinley, who represents West Virginia’s 1st District, ranked 10th out of all 435 members of the U.S. House, according to the rankings. In a Monday news release, he celebrated his ranking.

“The people of the 1st District elected me to represent them in Washington, not a party,” McKinley said. “They want someone who can work across the aisle to achieve results, and that is how we have approached the job.”

Mooney, of the 2nd District, ranked 394th, according to the index. Miller, of the 3rd District, ranked 288th.

Spokespersons for Mooney and Miller did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Capito, a Republican, ranked sixth among all 100 lawmakers in the upper chamber. Manchin — a Democrat who is often considered one of the most moderate members of the Senate — ranked 26th, according to the Lugar Center’s index.

“I’m proud to have good relationships with my colleagues on both sides of the aisle, and I will continue to work in a bipartisan way to find real and meaningful solutions that better the lives of all West Virginians,” Capito said.

A spokesperson for Manchin did not immediately offer comment on his ranking.

Scores for the Bipartisan Index are based on “two broad, equally weighted categories,” according to the Lugar Center’s website.

“A bipartisan sponsorship is defined as the introduction of a bill that attracts cosponsors from the opposing party. Similarly, a bipartisan co-sponsorship is the act of a congressional member adding his or her name in support of a bill introduced by a member of the opposing party,” the website explains in its methodology of the index.

However, the Lugar Center’s index does not consider actual votes on bills, which might give constituents a better idea of how strongly lawmakers stick with members of their own party.

Represent — a web app maintained by the non-profit news outlet ProPublica — tracks voting records and how often a lawmaker breaks with a majority of their respective party.

During the 116th Congress, Capito voted against a majority of Senate Republicans 10 times (1.5%), putting her 97th among all senators. Manchin voted against a majority of Senate Democrats 174 times (24.8%), putting him second out of all members of the upper chamber to break from his own party in 2019 and 2020.

McKinley voted against a majority of House Republicans 74 times (7.8%) during the previous class of lawmakers. Mooney voted against a majority of his party 83 times (8.8%) and Miller voted against a majority of her caucus 34 times (3.6%) in the same two-year period.

Those voting records rank McKinley 84th, Mooney 74th and Miller 207th among all House members in how often they broke with their party during the 116th Congress.

Just last week, the U.S. Census Bureau announced that West Virginia will lose a congressional seat in 2022. All three Republican members of the House have said they plan to run for reelection in what will become two districts, but will reevaluate things once new maps are drawn.

Should McKinley, Mooney and Miller all decide to run, two of them would face off in a primary election in one of the two newly formed districts.