Conley, Kimes elected to House of Delegates
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PARKERSBURG --It appears Republicans Roger Conley and D. Shannon Kimes will be joining the West Virginia House of Delegates, as they led in the unofficial vote tallies Tuesday night.
Conley got the second highest amount of votes for the three available seats in the 10th District race with 11,125 votes. He will be heading to Charleston with Republican incumbents John Kelly (13,576 votes) and Vernon Criss (10,928 votes).
Conley, 64, has been the owner and operator of Conley Fabrication LLC for nearly 12 years and has worked in the manufacturing business for for 40 years, either as an owner or in upper management. A lifelong resident of Wood County, he lived in Mineral Wells for over 30 years and spent the past 14 in Vienna. He has served on Vienna City Council for four years.
Conley said he was very thankful and appreciative of the people in the 10th District who came out and voted for him.
''I am glad to have their trust and confidence to represent them in Charleston,'' he said. ''It has been a long campaign. … I am ready to get to work. It is time to roll up my sleeves and go at it.''
Conley said he is looking forward to working with Criss and Kelly.
''We are going to make a phenomenal team,'' he said. ''As the new kid, I know I can go to either one of them if I have any questions and they will work with me.''
Kimes was leading Democrat Jim Marion for the 9th District seat with 5,673 votes to 2,398, with all Wood and Wirt County precincts reporting. The 9th District covers part of southern Wood County and all of Wirt County.
Kimes, 43, of Rockport, is a mechanical engineer who owns and operates Kimes Steel & Rail Inc., a manufacturer of railroad track construction materials. He has run for the House five times before.
Kimes was still being cautious Tuesday until all of the votes are in and counted. As the votes were being tallied, he said he was just as shocked as he was when he won the primary this past spring against incumbent Chuck Little.
''So far, so good,'' he said. ''I appreciate everyone who came out and voted for me.''
Kimes wished his opponent Jim Marion well
Kimes said he is looking forward to going to Charleston and getting to work for the people of his district.
''I will be trying to see what I can do to solve the problems in the 9th District,'' he said.
The election was a big night for Kelly, Criss and fellow incumbent Delegate Bill Anderson, R-Wood.
Anderson got 6,208 votes compared to Democrat Andrew Alvarez's 2,375 in the 8th District, which covers the northern part of Wood County.
Anderson, 72, is a retired teacher from Williamstown who is running for his 15th two-year term in the Legislature.
He said he is looking forward to resuming his duties.
''I really appreciate the supporters of the voters,'' Anderson said.
As the chairman of the House's Energy Committee, he wants to work on developing "a path to the future."
Priorities for the Legislature includes road repair, COVID-19 help and more.
Right now, the state's revenues are $100 million over estimate.
''It is a pleasant surprise,'' Anderson said.
He credits the Legislature and the governor with solid management of the state's finances. He hopes they will be able to leverage that money to help the people of West Virginia as well as make some changes in the tax laws to better help people.
Kelly, 74, a DuPont retiree, is running for his fourth term in the House, having previously served on Parkersburg City Council for 14 years.
He said he was humbled by the turnout and the support he received.
''This is my biggest win,'' Kelly said.
He credited all of the candidates in the 10th District race for conducting themselves well and professionally.
''I am ready to go back to Charleston and get some things done,'' Kelly said.
It is still too early to talk about a lot of things, he said, but added he has always worked on legislation to bring jobs to the state.
''I am looking to make more things happen,'' Kelly said. ''I am ready to go to work.''
Criss, 66, is a local businessman seeking his third consecutive term since 2016,having previously served in the House from December 1987 to 1990.
''I am thankful to the community of Wood County to allow me to do this again,'' Criss said.
The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic will be a major concern going into the next legislative session. Criss said the Legislature may concentrate only on passing a budget if the pandemic is still going strong.
They will have a better idea early next year of where things stand and if the Legislature will go forward with a wide variety of legislation. If they are able, they will continue to work on business development that will hire more people.
Republicans had a good night statewide with more additional seats gained.
''I am pleased we will be able to put forward the agenda we need for West Virginia,'' Criss said.