11th District candidates for the House of Delegates
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PARKERSBURG - The candidates in the 11th District of the House of Delegates are Democrat Daniel Miller and Republican Jeff Sandy.
Early voting starts today and runs through Oct. 31 in West Virginia. Election day is Nov. 3.
Miller, 33, works in the mental health field helping families and is a graduate of West Virginia University. Top priorities in the district are legislation supporting the aging population, improving quality of life for families and tax relief for small businesses, Miller said.
"This would look like programs to supplement Social Security payment gaps, easily accessible services to support impoverished or working caregivers and provide opportunities for qualifying business owners to deduct certain additional business income/expenses or B&O tax exemptions for extremely small businesses," Miller said.
Priorities for the state are restoring and protecting drinking water, business incentives for employing West Virginians and investing back into the community and supporting the needs of education, Miller said.
"This would look like state-funded programs whose responsibility it is to investigate sources of pollution, give heavy fines to the entities responsible and devise and implement methods to remove the pollutants." Miller said.
Businesses would receive tax credits, relocation grants or workforce training grants, Miller said. Incentives would come with stipulations they focus on providing jobs and training to West Virginia workers, contract through labor unions and investing in the community in ways such as high school apprenticeship programs or cooperation with local nonprofits, Miller said.
"Educational needs that require focus include the Hope Voucher Program, 'Hope Scholarship,' with its need for guardrails, particularly income caps and introduce stipulations that require Hope Voucher funds be used only within the state of West Virginia," Miller said.
A lack of resources is the most critical problem facing public education in West Virginia, Miller said.
"We see outdated funding formulas that do not match up with the modern needs of education. There are few resources and educators in special education, our IDD youth fall through major gaps in care and cannot learn in a least-restrictive environment," Miller said. "Taxpayer funding is being siphoned away by a poorly regulated Hope Scholarship program, that with the right guardrails, can be a great benefit for West Virginian youth in need."
Other educational needs require supporting teachers with improved pay and resources, adjusting outdated financial formulas for school funding to better match the needs of today's economy, improving special education programs and the quality of education for IDD youth, Miller said.
Among Miller's preferences for committee assignments include education, energy, public works and manufacturing, the environment and health.
"The biggest problems facing my residents include affordability. When people struggle to pay for food, medication, housing, gas, and utilities without going into debt; that is an issue that affects everyone," Miller said. "We also see in West Virginia, as a whole, poor quality of air, undrinkable water and social services stretched to the point of breaking. The overall well-being of Appalachians is to a point in which we are in 'survival mode' and we deserve so much better than that."
Miller said he would vote to repeal House Bill 2014, which circumvents local government regulations from microgrid districts or certified high data center projects, among other provisions.
Among bills supported by Republicans that he would have supported are HB 4004 providing reimbursements for qualifying employers who train workers for new skills and increase wages, and HB 4798, known as Alyssa's Law, requiring school staff to wear devices that can be activated to immediately call 911 and initiate a campus-wide lockdown. Miller opposes HB 5090, which died in committee, that would eliminate vaccine requirements for school children.
Sandy, 68, is a former sheriff of Wood County and secretary of Homeland Security under Gov. Jim Justice.
Property taxes are among the top priorities for District 11 and the state, Sandy said.
Older West Virginians struggle to pay property taxes, a widespread problem, and the difficulty comes from fixed incomes, rising assessments, limited relief programs and strict delinquency rules, all of which disproportionately affect seniors, Sandy said.
West Virginia is among the oldest and most owner-occupied states in the country, Sandy said. Modest property tax bills can become burdensome for seniors because income is fixed and relief programs only partially offset rising costs, he said.
Sandy cites a letter he sent to the governor in April about the concern from residents about rising property taxes. About 387,000 West Virginia residents are 65 and older, according to research, and the average monthly Social Security payment in West Virginia is $1,807, Sandy said.
Sandy proposed to the governor that married couples over 65 with a combined annual income below $50,000 be eligible for a 50% property tax credit on their West Virginia income tax return. Single individuals or widows over 65 with an annual income less than $25,000 would qualify for a 100% property tax credit on their West Virginia income tax return, Sandy said.
Sandy said, based on his experience as a federal agent, sheriff and secretary, "I will accept any committee the speaker feels I could help the state of West Virginia."
The biggest problems facing residents of the district and West Virginia are high utilities, the cost of living and taxes. The most critical problem facing public education in West Virginia is the HOPE Scholarship, which started with good intentions, Sandy said.
"The HOPE Scholarship is not a traditional scholarship. It is an ESA, meaning the state deposits the public‑school portion of a child's education funding into a parent‑controlled account," Sandy said. "Families then use those funds to customize the child's education outside the full‑time public school system."
The HOPE Scholarship in fiscal year 2024 was over $63 million, or 0.003% of the state budget, Sandy said.
"However, I believe we need more checks and balances in the program to protect our K to 12 students from missing out in what I believe is the best years of their life," Sandy said "K-12 is the foundation for a quality life for our kids and the state needs to insure these children are getting a quality education."
Sandy would not vote to repeal any of the bills passed by the House in the last two sessions. Legislation he would not support that he said is supported by Democrats would restore voting rights for people once incarcerated, eliminate inmate medical co‑pays, make edibles from medical cannabis legal and the Second Look Sentencing Act allowing judges to review long-term prison sentences.
"I would like to form a bipartisan group to look into proposed (Affordable Medicaid Buy‑In Program)," Sandy said. "We need to develop a plan for low-income West Virginians for supplemental coverage to the U.S. Medicare and Medicaid Programs."