CHARLESTON, W.Va. — The state Senate will return to an 18-16 advantage for Republicans following an opinion by the state Supreme Court Friday in the controversy surrounding the replacement for former Senator Daniel Hall.
In an opinion authored by Justice Margaret Workman, the Court ruled 3-1, the current state code is clear and unambiguous when it comes to the filling of an empty seat in the Senate by the governor.
Governor Tomblin reacted quickly and appointed Republican Sue Cline to fill the vacancy. The Wyoming County resident works as a real estate agent in Beckley. Â Cline narrowly lost to Democrat Linda Goode Phillips for the House of Delegates District 25 seat in the 2014 election.
Cline has also served as vice president of the Pineville Area Chamber of Commerce, has been a member of the Convention and Visitors Bureau Board of Wyoming County and the Wyoming County Planning Commission.
The opinion pointed to the code language that the governor must appoint “the person holding the office immediately preceding the vacancy was affiliated.”
Hall was a Republican when he resigned from the Senate a few weeks ago to take a job with the National Rifle Association but was a Democrat when he was elected to the position in 2012. The West Virginia Democratic Party, attorneys representing Gov. Earl Ray Tomblin and others argued the code language was ambiguous and reverted back to the will of the voters when Hall was elected. The Court rejected the argument.
“We reject petitioners’ reasoning because their reading of the statute is profoundly strained and constitutes a misreading of statutory language that is clear in its
meaning,” the order said.
Justices Workman, Chief Justice Menis Ketchum and Allen Loughry were in the majority. Justice Robin Davis dissented.