Dear Editor,
On a recent Friday, I knocked on doors in Hinton with Glenn Elliott from Wheeling WV, a Democratic candidate for the U.S. Senate. We spoke with Republicans, independents, and Democrats, retired school teachers and railroaders, businessmen past and present. Based on the dozen-plus people we contacted, I believe there is a widespread sense among folks who follow the news that Gov. Jim Justice is unqualified to assume the Senate seat previously held by Robert Byrd and Joe Manchin.
People know that Gov. Justice has a long record of failing to pay his taxes, especially to local jurisdictions he can roll over. He refuses to pay up on millions of environmental violations, even after he negotiates a lenient payment schedule. He stiffs local contractors, extracting reduced reimbursements. Recently he failed to pay into his workers’ health care plan—-after deducting their wages to do so. Am I just old-fashioned to believe that elected leaders should be examples of personal responsibility and good citizenship?
While he has been heroic to carry on the Greenbrier Hotel, Justice is repeatedly on the edge of bankruptcy. He has turned to investors from Saudi Arabia, Russia, and Abu Dhabi to bail him out. Do people really want their U.S. Senator beholden to foreign interests?
The point of our door-knocking was to offer voters a first-hand, in-the-flesh alternative. He made positive impressions. Elliott has campaigned in all 55 West Virginia counties, unlike his opponent, who has refused to debate or campaign at all. Elliott told folks that his role model remains Robert Byrd, for whom he worked as a legislative assistant from 1995 until 1999.
Elliott watched how tirelessly Byrd worked for his constituents. Byrd brought his lunch to the office in a brown paper bag every day, the Constitution in his breast pocket, enjoying his sandwich and milk as he prepared bills and his famous interrogations of nominees. Elliott studied under this master of the Senate’s history, learning the almost-lost art of compromise to get things done.
Elliott served as mayor of Wheeling from 2016 until this year when he chose to stand for the Senate. He led the revitalization of the downtown district and built affordable housing and parks and new headquarters for the police and fire departments. With Wheeling reinvigorated, in 2022 his fellow mayors recognized him as Mayor of the Year.
He told voters, “I plan to be a full time on the job Senator in the manner of the previous occupants of this seat, Byrd and Manchin who has endorsed me. They used their independence to wield exceptional power on behalf of the people.”
The U.S. Senate is already overloaded with super-rich and elderly politicos. At 52, Glenn Elliott offers the prospect of a humble and diligent servant to carry on the legacy of this seat. He will be able to walk up the steps of the Capitol and actually show up for work. He is well worth voting for.
Chris Chanlett
