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CHARLESTON -- The new majority leader for the West Virginia Senate says he plans to work with both sides of the aisle, not just his fellow Republicans.
Sen. Tom Takubo, R-Kanawha, was appointed Senate majority leader to replace state Sen. Ryan Ferns, R-Ohio, who lost his re-election bid, by Senate President Mitch Carmichael, R-Jackson, on Monday.
During a phone interview Tuesday, Takubo said it wasn't necessarily a role he aspired to, but now that he has the second most powerful job in the upper chamber, Takubo said he was honored to have the opportunity.
"I didn't really seek the position," Takubo said. "I was pretty happy in the health domain. That's what got me into politics in the first place. Mitch called and said he needed me in another position. I'm a team player, so I go where he tells me he needs me most. I gladly accepted and look forward to the challenge and we'll see how it goes."
A Charleston-area pulmonologist, Takubo plans to use his bedside manner to help bridge any divides between the Republican majority and the Democratic minority.
"One thing I think I bring to the position is I have pretty cordial relationships with both sides," Takubo said. "If everyone is going to sacrifice their time and energy to serve, then certainly their priorities are important to them and it should be important to me and the rest of the Senate."
To take stock of the minority party's ideas, Takubo plans to meet with Senate Minority Leader Roman Prezioso, D-Marion, and other Democratic leaders to learn about their priorities for the 2019 legislative session."
"I'm going to go and ask everybody for their top-three list," Takubo said. "I suspect among a lot of senators there's going to be redundancy in their top-three lists of what's most important to them. Regardless - Republican or Democrat - if it's a good thing for the state, we need to push to try to achieve those goals."
Takubo said he doesn't want to see partisanship between the two parties. He would rather work out differences of opinion to craft better legislation.
"One thing I don't want to do, and I see it happen on the Senate floor from time to time, is some gamesmanship," Takubo said. "We have differences of opinion, and that's OK too, but some of the games gives all of us a little bit of a black eye."
"The reality is most of the time we're all in complete unison and unanimous voting on the Senate floor," Takubo said. "It doesn't matter what the initials are behind your name. Everybody's heart is in the right place. They want to see West Virginia prosper and do better. I just want to try to tie those together as much as possible."
For the last two years, Takubo has chaired the Senate Health and Human Resources Committee, bringing his knowledge as a physician to help craft health care legislation. Takubo said he would miss chairing the committee, but that his new role will help him have a larger voice in health care legislation. He also said that state Sen. Michael Maroney, R-Marshall, would likely move from vice-chairman to chairman.
"There is certainly a lot still lacking in the realm of health care that needs done in this state," Takubo said. "Up until just a few days ago I was still the health chair, so I had a full agenda primed and ready. We're in good hands, because Michael Maroney will be taking over as health chair. I've already forwarded him my entire agenda."
Takubo was first elected in 2014 and just won re-election to a second term on Nov. 6. He manages his own medical practice dealing with lung issues.