A Strong, Persevering, and Effective
candidate for the people of the 44th District in the WV House of Delegates.

As your elected representative, I am committed first and foremost to representing the interests of the 44th district. With that in mind, I have chosen four top legislative priorities:

• Education
• Healthcare
• Economy
• Quality of Life and Enjoyment

Other Issues:

• Environment
• Energy

 

Education

Prosperity, growth, security and stability - everything that we want for our children and for ourselves begins and ends with education. Whether or not we compete locally, nationally or globally depends upon how we educate the children in our community.

I fully believe that a good education is necessary for our children to succeed in life. With good education come better opportunities, higher salaries and a better future. We must make the proper investments in education, investments in classrooms, teachers and resources our students need to learn. We must provide for technical and vocational education for students who wish to enter the workforce instead of attending college, and our school systems must be given access to cutting edge technologies so that all students can succeed at the next level.

For many of our students, achieving success in the 21st Century will mean pursuing a college education. Fortunately, Monongalia County is home to some of the best public colleges and universities in West Virginia. However, with that being said, every year it becomes more and more difficult for our youth to afford college. Tuition increases threaten the ability of all our qualified students to attend college. We cannot ignore this troubling trend. We must do more to ensure college is accessible to all who qualify, through scholarships, such as the Promise Scholarship Program, financial aid opportunities, and employer based tuition reimbursement incentives. Every student who works hard and who has dreams of going to college should have the chance to realize that dream.

I am a staunch advocate for our students, schools, community colleges and universities. Monongalia County schools are among the best schools in the State and I will make it a priority to keep it that way. Our youth deserve no less than the very best efforts of our leaders. Education can and must be a priority.

Healthcare

The 44th district is home to superior medical access and care. We are proud to boast national leading healthcare research and initiatives, allowing for excellent residency programs that attract and retain new West Virginia residents from all over the United States. Continuing to build on our medical communities, offer outstanding service, opportunities and leadership in medical research is a necessary ingredient in the bright future of Monongalia County. I will work to ensure continued funding for our healthcare community.

In an effort to protect the people of the 44th, I would support the following initiatives for increasing access and affordability of healthcare for all West Virginians by:

Providing tax credits to employers that assist in the purchase of health insurance.

Developing partnerships and programs in healthcare information technology, especially in the implementation and portability of electronic medical records, and matters of compliance and confidentiality.

Increasing support for community-based solutions.

Continuation and enhancement of medical programs for children and senior citizens, and protecting them from the impacts of budget cuts.

Economy

Most of my adult life has been spent in the business of business growth. Working on behalf of the West Virginia Chamber of Commerce, I have dedicated a large portion of my career to focusing on economic development and growth in West Virginia and beyond. Each and every day, my colleagues and I focus diligently on the cultivation of existing businesses, striving to keep them in our area, while also seeking to attract new businesses to this great State.

I love to see communities that employ and support the majority of their residents. I have been hard pressed to find anyone that will disagree; with an aggressive "Hire West Virginians" initiative, we can focus on workforce preparedness while supporting the endeavors of our businesses and regional economic improvement.

To maintain and grow economic vitality here in the 44th, I hope to focus on several measures:

• Broadband - I firmly believe that bringing broadband to the 44th will bring higher paying jobs, more telecommuting opportunities and will improve the overall health of our economy.
• Small Businesses - It is my goal to create legislation that champions local business and aids in growing West Virginia's economy through enacting tax relief for small business. I recognize that small businesses are critical to our economy and would continue to advocate for more funding for Small Business Development and incentive opportunities.
• Healthcare, as it relates to the economy - We must fight for a system that works for everyone. We can not continue to burden our small businesses or rely on a patchwork of government and community services; we need to find a sensible solution that is fair, equitable and, above all, one that allows citizens of all ages and income levels access to quality, affordable healthcare.

It is time we made real reform a priority. By pooling resources and creating a more equitable system, one that focuses on patients making healthcare decisions and a free market approach driving down costs for all, we can make healthcare accessible and affordable for everyone. By doing so will help promote continued positive economic growth in the region. We can accomplish this goal without rationing, without significant government oversight or intervention, and without increasing fees or paperwork. It is time we dealt with this issue head on. We need the leadership and common sense to make it happen. Real, positive change -- with regard to healthcare and every other issue -- always starts on the local level.

Quality of Life and Enjoyment

As your representative, you will have someone working to help the 44th prosper and grow while maintaining our distinct recreation enjoyment opportunities and quality of life.

At an early age, I was taught not only about hard work but about respecting our natural landscape. I believe we must be good stewards of our natural resources. I will work to fight for legislation that is respectful of both the men and women who make their living from the land while ensuring our land is conserved for our children and our children's children. "Conservation" and "economic and job growth" need not be mutually exclusive.

We need greater emphasis placed on preserving our remaining open spaces. Doing so will go a long way toward ensuring the rights of future generations of sportsmen to hunt and fish, and for all of us to enjoy the incredible beauty of our outdoor treasures. It is important to residents of this community that any growth in our transportation infrastructure and our retail market be implemented responsibly, and considering that, we must ensure that economic development plans will not disturb the quality of life and enjoyment that we have in our district.

I love this community. It is where I call home. I am running for the House of Delegates because I believe that, when you care about something, you go to work and get involved. To anyone who has lived in this region, the outdoors is an important part of who we are as a community. Together we can protect the distinct quality of life that makes home so prosperous, so bountiful, and so beautiful.

Environment

Regardless of our politics, we all care about the environment. Our commitment to the environment comes with a sense of urgency about our energy policy and the sources of the future - how we get it and how we use it.

As a representative of the 44th, I would oppose any further restrictions or regulations on energy. We need to err on the side of the people, and of the economic growth which sustains us all. Such regulations cripple West Virginia's economy, our consumers and our business owners, large and small. At a time when our economy is struggling, a cap-and-trade scheme would further strain family budgets and destroy jobs.

Creating jobs in the energy sectors and becoming more energy efficient requires entrepreneurial innovation, not big government mandates. Instead of higher energy bills and job losses, West Virginians deserve a comprehensive, job-creating energy policy that promotes energy efficiency, alternative energy production and, most important, the development of our own natural resources.

Energy

I will stand for policies that make us more energy efficient and less reliant on foreign sources of oil, all while creating jobs and easing the burden on family budgets.