CHARLESTON, W.Va. — The state’s minority leader in the House of Delegates knows who he will be backing come time to select a Democratic candidate in the upcoming race for governor.
“I’m supporting Jim Justice,” Tim Miley (D-Harrison, 48) said. “I believe strongly that at the end of the day he’s the strongest candidate for the Democratic Party based upon what he has done for the state of West Virginia in reinvesting his own money and significant sums of it back into West Virginia.”
Because of Justice’s actions toward promoting and investing in the state –such as bringing a PGA Tour Event to the Greenbrier Restort– Miley was led to endorse him over other candidates, including his counterpart in the state senate Jeff Kessler.
As for his own political future, Miley told Hoppy Kercheval on Monday’s MetroNews “Talkline” that it will be closer to Labor Day before he makes a commitment.
“I’m leaning strongly toward running again for reelection to the House of Delegates” he said. “But, I have to tell you, a lot of people have approached me about running for various other public offices.”
Those roles would potentially include campaigns for West Virginia’s First Congressional District, the state’s Attorney General and the Harrison County Commission.
However, all speculation would no longer be a moot point if he and his wife follow through on discussions to become foster parents, a role he says would trump politics.
If he does decide to run, he knows an issue that will be important to voters and must be dealt with soon is the condition of the state’s roads.
“In my 11 years that I have served in the legislature, I’ve never seen the roads in this bad of shape and I’ve never gotten more calls and complaints and communications from constituents about the roads being in such poor shape,” he said. “There are various parts of municipalities that look like minefields.”
When it comes to a solution to the problem, Miley doesn’t foresee fellow Harrison County Delegate Patsy Trecost’s plan to increase the state sales tax or similar plans gaining traction in Charleston.
As has been proposed in Monongalia County, Miley would suggest county commissioners have the option to create local fees in the form of a transportation and usage tax.
“Use that money locally there in the county to build roads and bridges and maintain the roads they have. If we don’t have the political will or courage to make some tough decisions in Charleston, which I don’t think we’ll have, I think we need to at least allow counties on the local level to take some steps to repair their own roads.”
Whatever method to improve the roads is agreed upon, Miley said it must be done soon because the current method of patching damaged roads while waiting for funding to rework them will eventually collapse the state’s infrastructure.
“The roads are in such horrible shape that I don’t know that we can just continue to patch our way along without raising substantial funding to do significant reworking and rebuilding of the roads we have,” he said. “This patchwork effort is not working.”
Beyond funding, Miley pointed to job openings with the Division of Highways in his area as a sign that manpower will also be needed.