(Editor's Notes by Christina Myer - Photo Illustration - MetroCreativeConnection)

It’s time — or nearly so — to assess what your elected representatives in Charleston did for you and West Virginia during this embarrassment of a regular legislative session. It’s time to take a look at what the people who will very likely be seeking your votes again next time around accomplished to improve regional and state economies and quality of life for ALL Mountain State residents.

How hard did they work? How often did they show up at all? Did they prioritize backward-looking matters of socio-cultural control (or control, in general) and their own personal political-point-gaining agendas? Did they seem to revel in the total absurdity and determination to drive our state back to the mid-19th Century that took hold on several occasions?

Voters can find the answers to most of those questions at wvlegislature.gov. You can and SHOULD explore the answers you’ll find there.

For example, did your representative sponsor five pieces of legislation over the course of 60 days, which included requiring usage of restrooms in public schools be based upon biological sex; allowing corporal punishment in schools; and eliminating Daylight Saving Time in West Virginia?

Is that better for you than someone who sponsored nine pieces of legislation — three of which were related to child care — and others such as administration of the West Virginia Water Pollution Control Act, corporate tax filing extension or a productive energy site reclamation waiver?

What about the person in a position of leadership who sponsored 20 pieces of legislation, much of which was focused on the bureaucracy and budget?

How about the one who tried to create a domestic violence registry; consolidate school boards from 55 counties to 11 counties; or take a look at mental health treatment, voting rights for formerly incarcerated individuals or requirement of insurance coverage for a non-opioid drug for a person diagnosed with a substance use disorder?

Search for those who spent a GREAT deal of time and effort on the Ten Commandments; replacement of the Robert C. Byrd statue; indecent displays of sexually explicit nature; pornographic material; the U.S. motto; critical race theory; obscene materials; adult cabaret performances; and gender transition surgeries, treatments and therapies for minors.

And even those few who sponsored nothing at all — did they vote in a way that represented you when the time came?

Click on bills to find out who voted yea, nay, was absent or was excused.

Fiery and attention-grabbing rhetoric is one thing — and can be problematic. But the real work or damage is done when votes are cast, when a bill makes its way to the governor’s desk (or doesn’t).

How often did the people you elected send Gov. Patrick Morrisey a bill that helped and represented YOU? How often did it seem as though those votes were cast to support your own and your family’s well-being AND to attract and retain the young families we say we are desperately courting?

I’m asking a lot of questions, I know. And believe me, it’s not because I don’t know what my own answers would be. It’s because I can’t pretend to speak for the 1.2 million-ish registered voters who are going to have to make up their minds about this kind of thing before it matters again. (By the way, I’ve said it before — you don’t have to tell anyone how you voted. It’s your conscience that matters, not your reputation.)

So I’ll ask a couple more questions. What do you want — for yourself, for your family, for your state?

And, did the people who represent your districts and may very well be on the next ballot act and vote in a way that will accomplish those things?

Only you can answer that.

Christina Myer is executive editor of The Parkersburg News and Sentinel. She can be reached via e-mail at cmyer@newsandsentinel.com