FILE - Sen. Jim Justice, R-W.Va., chats with members of the media just after a swearing-in ceremony in Old Senate Chamber in the Capitol, in Washington, Jan. 14, 2025. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite, File)

PARKERSBURG — The new year came with new faces in state and federal government in Ohio and West Virginia.

In West Virginia, Jim Justice, who was governor, was elected U.S. senator, and Pat Morrisey, the former attorney general, was elected governor. Riley Moore was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives from the 2nd District.

In Ohio, Bernie Moreno was elected to the U.S. Senate while former Lt. Gov. John Husted was appointed by Gov. Mike DeWine to succeed Sen. JD Vance who became vice president of the United States.

Moreno at the age of 57 will be the most junior senior senator in Ohio’s history.

Kevin Ritter, a freshman member of the Ohio House of Representatives, was a Washington County Commissioner when he was elected to the House in November.

United States Vice-President JD Vance takes part in a bilateral meeting with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen on the sidelines of the Artificial Intelligence Action Summit in Paris, Tuesday, Feb. 11, 2025. (AP Photo/Thomas Padilla)

The lines of communication are already open to Moreno, according to Ritter. Moreno was in the area at least 10 times during the campaign, and Ritter said he got to know Moreno.

“What really impressed me was how much time he spent in Southeast Ohio in the campaign,” Ritter said. “We really felt like we got to know him.”

Ritter believes the incoming Trump administration will reduce or eliminate regulations that he said places pressure on state and local governments.

States spending resources to address problems caused by illegal immigration and the open southern border will be helped by the administration’s policies toward immigration and the border, Ritter said. Clamping down on immigration will enable states to spend resources to areas helping the most people, he said.

“Immigration would be the biggest one,” Ritter said.

Infrastructure also is among the biggest needs in this area of Ohio, he said.

Ritter said Moreno asked him for the priorities for this region. Infrastructure tops the list, Ritter said.

“I think he’s going to follow through on that,” Ritter said.

Jesse Roush, executive director of the Southeastern Ohio Port Authority, has already had a brief conversation with a representative from Moreno’s office. They talked about priorities.

“Obviously they are well-versed of a lot of needs for the region,” Roush said.

A big issue for Roush is the multimodal transportation center that has been in the planning at the former AMP Ohio property off Ohio 7 and along the Ohio River, giving it access to road, rail and river.

“We’re on the Ohio River and the Ohio River is a great asset,” he said.

The Ohio Department of Transportation has funds for maritime facilities, but it’s focus is highways and the amount of money is limited, Roush said.

Federal support is important because of the amount of money available, he said. It’s billions of dollars as opposed to millions of dollars, Roush said.

Ritter, as the county commissioner, has been supportive of the project, as all representatives from the region including Rep. Don Jones and Sen. Brian Chavez, Roush said. His support will carry into the statehouse, Roush said.

“He’s been a great advocate for us as a commissioner,” Roush said.

Immigration isn’t so much a problem in Wood County than it is in the Eastern Panhandle or at The Greenbrier that hires many temporary workers, Blair Couch, president of the Wood County Commission, said. The Greenbrier is owned by Justice.

“Immigration is not an issue for us,” he said.

Temporary workers and immigrants often work the jobs most people won’t, Couch said.

Couch would like to see the federal government help with development of sites in Wood County, among those is the old SABIC property in Washington Bottom, the site of a $4 billion ethanol cracker project that fell through, Couch said. There’s some activity, but not much, he said.

“We get play on it, but not much,” Couch said.

Couch said he doesn’t recall a sitting senator meeting with the commission, but would welcome meeting with Justice.

“We’d be happy to have him,” Couch said.

Jess Mancini can be reached at jmancini@newsandsentinel.com.