Rep. Alex Mooney Story Archives - West Virginia Public Broadcasting

Democratic Group Files Lawsuit To Have Justice Release Work Schedule, Calendar

The Democratic Senate Campaign Committee demands Gov. Jim Justice release his official schedule and calendar from 2017 to the present.

The Democratic Senate Campaign Committee has filed a lawsuit in Kanawha County Circuit Court saying Gov. Jim Justice has failed to comply with a Freedom of Information (FOIA) request to release his official schedule and calendar from 2017 to the present. The suit demands the records be released.

David Bergstein, the DSCC communications director, said there are key reasons the U.S. Senate candidate cannot hide his work schedule, or lack thereof, from West Virginians.

“This has been an ongoing pattern with Justice, where there’s been media reporting about his lack of availability, how hard he’s working, whether he’s actually doing the job,” Bernstein said. “We believe that he needs to disclose these schedules and calendars.”

A DSCC press release on the lawsuit notes what the committee calls a key point from the lawsuit filing.

“The last time he produced such records — in 2019 — they showed that Justice ‘almost never meets with his Cabinet, is rarely at the capital and was largely missing at one of the most critical points of [the] year’s legislative session,’ the press release stated.

The press release provides links to show that in March and April the DSCC filed a FOIA request seeking copies of records containing scheduled official meetings involving Justice, his chief of staff, deputy chief of staff and his general counsel from January 2017 to the present.

Justice General Counsel J. Berkeley Bentley “denied the request in full, citing out of state precedent and exceptions in West Virginia law which clearly do not apply to the materials sought.”

Justice will face U.S. Rep. Alex Mooney in the Republican primary for the U.S. Senate seat.

“There is already a very nasty and contentious primary fight happening between Justice and Mooney,” Bergstein said. “This may be an area which becomes a conversation in that primary campaign between those two Republican opponents, but they’re already really going after each other. And we’re sure that the Justice work schedule will receive further scrutiny during the primary.”

The DSCC works to elect Democrats to the U.S. Senate.

Justice’s office said it has no comment on the lawsuit at this time.

Justice Expected To Make Senate Announcement

After months of speculation, Gov. Jim Justice is expected to announce his bid for the U.S. Senate seat currently held by Sen. Joe Manchin later Thursday.

The Justice campaign has scheduled an announcement from The Greenbrier Resort that he owns with his family at 5 p.m. News reports indicate Justice has already filed his candidacy papers with the Federal Elections Commission.

Justice is term-limited and cannot run for a third term as governor. He ran for governor in 2016 as a Democrat but switched parties roughly six months into his first term at a rally held by former President Donald Trump in Huntington.

Manchin has not announced whether or not he will run for a third term. He faced stiff opposition in his last election from Attorney General Patrick Morrisey, but Morrisey has declared his intention to run for governor.

In deeply red West Virginia, political observers believe Manchin’s seat is in play to flip Republican, with the potential to shift control of the evenly divided chamber away from Democrats.

Republican U.S. Rep. Alex Mooney declared earlier this year that he was running for the seat. Mooney was first elected to the House of Representatives in 2014.

Coal miner and self-described “ultra-MAGA” political outsider Chris Rose has also announced a run for the seat.

A live stream of the Special Announcement will be available at:

Appalachians Share Economic Woes with Congress

The U.S. House Committee on Ways and Means, the oldest committee of the U.S. Congress held its first field hearing at Allegheny Wood Products in Petersburg, West Virginia to give citizens the chance to voice their small business’ needs to the federal government.

Representatives from across the U.S. heard from West Virginia small business owners, workers, and families about how they have been affected by inflation, supply chain problems and high energy costs. The event was also referred to as the “State of the American Economy: Appalachia.”

West Virginia Rep. Carol Miller, a Republican member of the committee, said she was excited to have her colleagues with her in her home state.

“I am really excited for the opportunity today to be able to highlight some of the stories of hard-working West Virginians, and the unnecessary struggles that they face because of an overreaching federal government,” Miller said. “From unelected bureaucrats and uninformed lawmakers, which have caused untold damage to all of our communities in southern West Virginia in particular, the effects of bad policies have been devastating.”

Members from the community were called to testify about issues they’ve faced in each of their industries. Members were: Tom Plaugher, vice president of operations at Allegheny Wood Products; Ashley Bachman owner of Cheetah B’s Restaurant; Wylie McDade, co-owner of Devil’s Due Distillery; Jamie Ward, preparation plant manager at Consol Energy Inc.

The committee plans to travel across the nation to hold field hearings with community members over the next two years to hear firsthand from citizens about the challenges facing their families and small businesses, and how they think Congress can help.

“I really appreciate the effort this committee made, it’s quite unique. I don’t know that I’ve come to a field hearing before, so it’s really an honor to be with you,” said West Virginia Rep. Alex Mooney. “I’m grateful that this hearing is in my district, and I hope today’s discussion focuses on issues in rural America that Washington often overlooks West Virginia, families are being forced to make tough, tough economic decisions.”

Justice 'Seriously Considering' 2024 U.S. Senate Run

During his Tuesday coronavirus briefing, Gov. Jim Justice said he will soon make an announcement regarding a possible run for the U.S Senate seat open in 2024.

This is a developing story and may be updated.

Updated 1:41 p.m., Nov. 22, 2022

During his Tuesday coronavirus briefing, Gov. Jim Justice said he will soon make an announcement regarding a possible run for the U.S Senate seat open in 2024.

“I’m really thinking really hard about it,” Justice said. “I’m very seriously considering running for Senate.”

Last week, another Republican, Rep. Alex Mooney, announced his intention to run for the seat currently held by Democrat Joe Manchin.

Attorney General Patrick Morrisey has also suggested he may run for a federal office in 2024. Manchin hasn’t said if he’ll run again.

Justice said others declaring their candidacy has nothing to do with his political decisions. He said he has been seriously considering a senate run for a while and is consulting with his family.

“I’m doing a lot of thinking and planning and everything,” Justice said. “Discussions are ongoing with my family and lots of folks but serious, serious consideration.”

Justice said regardless of his decision, he will be an active governor the next two years. He said he’s “not going to sit around and just hang out.”

W.Va. Political Analysts Size Up Next Week’s Midterms

Both agreed the statewide Amendments on the ballot, especially two and four, will drive voters to the polls.

What do some of West Virginia’s political experts see as deciding factors in next week’s midterms?

Marybeth Beller has more than two decades with Marshall University’s School of Political Science.

Beller notes that two Senate and 22 House of Delegates seats are uncontested by Democrats. She said even though the state democratic party is reorganizing under new leadership, the disparity is disconcerting.

“It’s bad for democracy, not to have any opposition whatsoever, suggesting to the incumbent that he or she is very safe,” Beller said. “I think looking at it from a theoretical perspective, it’s always good for us to have challenges. Unchecked power is not healthy in our democracy.”

John Kilwein is the chair of the political science department at West Virginia University.

Kilwein said it would be a complete earthquake if anything changed in terms of the grip that the Republicans have on the state legislature. He said there’s despondency in the Democratic Party right now.

“If you go to their websites, it was clear to me that the Republicans just have it together right now,” Kilwein said. “Most every Republican link worked. Whereas democratic links, in some counties, they didn’t have somebody, you couldn’t contact somebody.”

Both agreed that nationally, the thought that a change in abortion rights would drive more women to the polls has been tempered.

Beller said a previous state abortion amendment that narrowly passed may set a women’s voting preference for this midterm election. In 2018, an amendment passed 52 percent to 48 percent, noting that nothing in the constitution secured or protected a right to abortion or funding for abortion. The amendment negated a 1993 Supreme Court decision that said low-income women had a right to an abortion with medicaid funding.

“There are a lot of angry women out there and maybe angry men,” Beller said. “The policy that the legislature has passed on abortion makes it so restrictive that it’s going to be very difficult for a woman to have access to that kind of health care. I think we could still see that being a big issue.”

Kilwein said with the expected dominance of incumbent Republican U.S. Representatives Carol Miller and Alex Mooney, the change in state abortion law won’t have much of an impact.

“Is it going to be that much of a factor that abortion would help Wendell to beat Mooney?” Kilwein said. “I just don’t think it’s going to be asking too much.”

Beller said 12 independent legislative candidates on the ballot is a high number for this midterm. She said those candidates could siphon votes from the Republican or Democrat, depending on campaign activity.

She said several races could be closely contested.

“In House District 26 you might want to look into incumbent Dr. Matt Rohrbach, R-Cabell, being challenged by Sydnee Smirl McElroy,” Beller said. ”McElroy is the granddaughter of Jody Smirl, who was in the House for many years and is beloved throughout the state. She could be a real challenge to Dr. Rohrbach.”

Beller pointed out two other races of interest.

“In House District 73. Majority Leader Amy Summers. R-Taylor, is the incumbent but she’s running against Mike Manypenny, who served in the House for many years and is well known to West Virginians. That could be a race that would be of interest,” Beller said.

“A big race to look out for though is in Senate District 13, is going to be something to watch,” she said. “Del. Barbara Fleischauer, D-Monongahelia, has been in the House for many years and is very well respected. She’s now running for that Senate seat. She’s running against Mike Olivererio, who has also served in the legislature for many years. Most recently he lost a bid for a congressional seat.”

Kilwein said he would be shocked if the state republican supermajority didn’t stay the same or get higher.

“You don’t want to get into the habit of predicting that this is going to be this way forever,” Kilwein said. “It sure feels like there’s a pretty significant control of the legislature by the Republicans for the foreseeable future.”

Both agreed the statewide Amendments on the ballot, especially two and four, will drive voters to the polls.

West Virginia Rep. Alex Mooney Objects To Effort To Remove Trump From Office

This is a developing story and may be updated.

Rep. Alex Mooney of West Virginia’s 2nd Congressional District objected Monday to an effort in the U.S. House of Representatives to remove President Donald Trump from office.

The House was set to consider a resolution calling on Vice President Mike Pence to gather members of the cabinet and invoke the 25th Amendment. House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer of Maryland requested unanimous consent to consider the resolution, but that request was blocked by Mooney’s objection.

“Speaker Pelosi should not attempt to adopt a resolution of this magnitude without any debate on the floor of the U.S. House of Representatives,” Mooney said in a statement. “It is wrong to have sent members of Congress home and then try to adopt without any debate a precedent-setting resolution that could imperil our Republic. The U.S. House must never adopt a resolution that demands the removal of a duly elected president, without any hearings, debate or recorded votes.”

Efforts to remove Trump from office have gained momentum since hundreds of pro-Trump extremists mounted an insurrection last week on the U.S. Capitol as Congress was certifying Democrat Joe Biden as the winner of the 2020 presidential election.

As Congress considered certifying each state’s results, Mooney voted to object to results from Pennsylvania. U.S. Rep. Carol Miller, of West Virginia’s 3rd Congressional District, voted to object to results in both Arizona and Pennsylvania.

With Democrats holding a narrow majority in the House, an effort to impeach Trump for his role in the insurrection was introduced on Monday.

A single article of impeachment, accusing Trump of “inciting violence against the government of the United States,” is expected to see a vote this week.