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Democrats line up behind Miley

CHARLESTON, W.Va. — House Finance Committee Chairman Harry Keith White (D-Mingo) says he is no longer in the race to be the next Speaker of the state House of Delegates.

Instead, White said he and his supporters will be backing House Judiciary Committee Chairman Tim Miley (D-Harrison) when the replacement for outgoing House Speaker Rick Thompson is selected next week.

The two leading Speaker candidates say they’re now working together.

“That’s my intent, myself, along with our supporters, to endorse Tim for Speaker of the House,” said White.  He made the announcement on Friday’s MetroNews “Talkline.”

“Delegate Miley and myself have forged a partnership to try to continue to work together for the benefit and the future of the state of West Virginia,” said White.

The endorsement means all 54 House Democrats will now likely make Miley the next Speaker.

However, Republicans have been working to add Democrat numbers to their 46 members to possibly put House Minority Leader Tim Armstead (R-Kanawha) in the House leadership role.  At this point, though, there are no indications Armstead will have enough votes.

Thompson is resigning from the House to become the next Secretary of the state Department of Veterans Affairs.  His resignation will officially take effect this weekend.

After that, Governor Earl Ray Tomblin is expected to call the House into Special Session in Charleston at noon on Tuesday.

Miley said he is making no leadership decisions before then.  “I want to maintain my commitment to not making any promises.  Obviously, the work will begin after we get through Tuesday,” said Miley.

“I do intend to recognize people for the talents and value they bring to the House of Delegates.  I will live up to my commitment of stability.  That’s a commitment I’ve made very publicly and privately.”

White, who has been a delegate since the 1990s, admitted he would like to keep his House leadership position.

“We’ve only got eleven months until the next primary election.  We’ve got a major legislative session coming up in January.  There’s a lot that will be on our plate in a very short period of time,” he said.

Miley was first elected to the House in 2004.





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