West Virginia Senate Democratic candidates Simon Hargus, left, and Jim Leach talk with each other while House of Delegates District 10 candidates Harry Deitzler, left, talks with Matthew Dodrill. (Photo by Jeff Baughan)

PARKERSBURG — The League of Women Voters allowed candidates for the West Virginia State Senate and the House of Delegates to sum up their candidacy in four minutes Monday in Parkersburg City Council chambers.

League of Women Voters vice president Kathy Stoltz said the format was being changed to allow candidates to say what they wanted instead of having someone ask the same question of every candidate.

Of the 15 candidates, only two weren’t present: Sen. Michael Azinger, who was reportedly absent because of being called away on a family matter, and Delegate Frank Deem, who is recovering from a fall.

The comments of speakers are listed in the order of appearance during the night.

Democratic candidates for the state Senate were introduced first with Simon Hargus and Jim Leach speaking.

House of Delegates candidates, from left, John Kelly, Vernon Criss and Ray Hollen talk before the start of Monday’s Meet the Candidates night in the Parkersburg City Council chambers. (Photo by Jeff Baughan)

∫ Hargus: “My theme is community first,” he said. “The linchpin is schools. My number one priority is going to be schools.” He added another priority would be the drug problem as “I think heroin is becoming a bigger problem again than the opioid problem, at least that’s what I am hearing from police officers.”

He concluded by saying he was “putting community over politics.”

∫ Jim Leach: Leach stated his theme was “let’s grow mountaineers,” and remarked how his career as a lawyer has been “seeking justice.” He added as a senator he could put a master’s degree in energy law to use in helping the state with new resources, such as medical cannabis and industrial hemp.

“New resources like this could employ many West Virginians,” he said. “This is not limited to a small group. New resources can help all mountaineers.”

House of Delegates District 8 candidates Bill Anderson (R) and David Bland (D) are unopposed in the primary election.

∫ Bill Anderson: Anderson spoke primarily on three bills dealing with energy passed in the last session. Anderson is chairman of the energy committee in the House of Delegates.

Anderson focused primarily on the co-tenancy bill, which allows a single tract of land with multiple owners to be leased when all of the owners cannot be located and not hold up the process.

∫ David Bland: Bland remarked as a 17-year union member he was “proud of what the West Virginia teachers accomplished. I thank God for the West Virginia teachers. Because everything coming out of Charleston has been a negative influence on the union worker,” and an “attack on the working class worker.”

Bland added he was in the race because he was tired of the way things were going in Charleston. Bland campaigned against Anderson in 2016 for the 8th District. He had been appointed by the Democratic Party to fill a ballot vacancy.

House of Delegates District 9 has Jim Marion (D) against Ray Hollen (R).

∫ Jim Marion: Marion spoke concerning right to work laws and stated he was not among those chosen to speak on the matter but people from Michigan were. “We don’t need people coming into West Virginia from out of state and telling us how to run this state,” he said. He also commended the past legislative session for putting together a budget before the end of the session.

“Teachers, however, shouldn’t have had to walk out of the classes to get a raise,” he said. “The two things business looks for when moving into an area are infrastructure and education.”

∫ Ray Hollen: Hollen stated one of the important items of the last session was “allowing a private organization to take over a nursing home,” which would allow Wirt County to finally have a nursing home.

He also remarked the state “is in desperate need of help in dealing with the opioid problem. But we are seeing a decline in the opioids and when one drug declines there are always another one to take its place. Businesses are always looking for safe places to come into.”

House of Delegates District 10 had seven speakers featuring Republican speakers Vernon Criss, Matthew Dodrill, Jim Erlandson and John Kelly. Democrats speaking were Andy Daniel, Harry Deitzler and J. Morgan Leach.

Vernon Criss: Criss kept his comments brief, speaking about how many things are still being done in ways dating back to the 1950s.

“One of those things the state still doesn’t know is how many cars the state owns,” he said. “You know how much a car costs now. How much money do you think the state has tied up in cars?”

He added the state has to come up with some financial accountability about the cars and other items if the state is going to become financially stable. “Hopefully, we can come up with some answers in the next legislative session so we can get some control over things. Cars are just an example of that 1950s way of doing things.”

Matthew Dodrill: Dodrill mentioned several times how the area had “squandered opportunities,” for development. “Disney was once looking at this area because 80 percent of the population of the eastern seaboard is within an eight hour drive of Parkersburg.”

Dodrill added Wood County needs to become a major distribution site of something “because our major distribution area right now are for drugs.” He stated research for solutions is not an answer. “Other countries have figured out problems, we just need to take their notes and solve those problems. There are so many things which can be done in this area but we have squandered the chances.”

Jim Erlandson: Erlandson stated Wood County was “the first place my family lived that felt like a community. He stated the family started a small business after he lost his job but added he felt “regulations with the high cost of workers compensation kept us from adding jobs.”

He added his family has adopted five children and is working to adopt a sixth. He said because of the experiences in doing so, he would “like to improve the DHHR and we need more social workers. We need to change foster and adoption laws.”

John Kelly: Kelly, who is seeking his third term in the House of Delegates, spoke about the committees he served on in Charleston before shifting his attention to the opioid problem which plagues the county.

“I saw a lot of bills which dealt with penalties for drug dealers but saw very little to do with getting the victims any help,” he said. Kelly was the original sponsor of House Bill 2428, which secured $22 million for additional beds for treatment centers. “Some of that money secured for state help found its way back to Wood County,” he said.

Andy Daniel: Daniel kept his remarks brief as he stated his history of starting as a carpenter’s apprentice before eventually starting his own construction business, 3D Construction, and then three others.

“There are lots of opportunities for West Virginia to be a booming area in the next few years,” he said. “But we’re broke when this state should have all kinds of money because of the resources sold. I would love for my kids to be able to stay here after they go to school but I don’t know with the way things are now.”

Harry Deitzler: The former Wood County prosecutor stated he was “not running against anyone but I just want one of the three votes available. My job in Charleston would be to solve problems, not create more problems.”

Deitzler said one thing the state could not do “is to cut out the severance tax. We can’t let out of state interests take money out of the state. The severance tax built Mountwood Park. I’m here to work with one another and make the world a better place.”

J. Morgan Leach: Leach said he is looking to “economic diversification so people in my generation will stay here (in West Virginia).” Leach mentioned the many uses for industrial hemp, mentioning the “fiber being used for thousands of products and it doesn’t require pesticides to grow.”

Leach stated an example of a farmer “receiving maybe $50 an acre for his products but with industrial hemp, a farmer may be able to achieve up to $1,000 an acre. And to get that, he is going to hire workers to help with the production, he’s going to spend his money locally and people he hires are going to be local people. The platform supports diversity and economy.”