This is the final installment of a 16-part MetroNews series that has taken a look at the challenged races for state Senate in Tuesday’s General Election.
CHARLESTON, W.Va. — The race for the state Senate’s 17th District seat features a match-up of a one-term incumbent and a longtime Kanawha County community and economic developer.
Charleston resident Terrell Ellis said her goal when she entered the campaign for the district that covers most of Kanawha County was to knock on 10,000 doors.
“I haven’t calculated where we are yet but I can tell you my feet and my knees tell me we’ve knocked on thousands of doors,” Ellis said.
Senator Tom Takubo, R-Kanawha, admits he hasn’t gone to a lot of functions that other candidates normally attend because his job away from the capitol as a pulmonary critical care physician requires a significant time commitment. But, he said, he has used that expertise to help him in the Senate.
When Takubo spoke with MetroNews Friday it was right after he had taking a tour of the Chemours Chemical Plant in Belle. He said those one-on-one type of meetings are important.
“When I visit drug rehab or I have time to sit down with director (Robert) Redford of the CDC, those are the things I make sure I make time for. Those are the things I think that can make the biggest impact. Those are the things that are in my wheelhouse and I can take that knowledge and turn it into something that can benefit everybody,” Takubo said.
The senator said his first three years in the legislature were pretty tough with projected revenue deficits and budget cuts that had to be made. He said that work resulted in a $27 million surplus heading into the last legislative session. He said work by the legislature has been part of an improving economy that now includes a revenue collection surplus topping $100 million.
“I wouldn’t say (that will make the budget work) easier because we have so much need for that money. The question is making sure we put those dollars in the right place, that they are well-spent and we are getting the absolute most out of every dollar we spend,” he said.
Ellis acknowledges an improving economy but said it’s leaving others behind.
“Those improvements are result of some very specific investments and improvements in certain sectors–mainly natural gas and the road bond. And I don’t think everybody in the state is feeling those improvements,” Ellis said. “The success that’s being touted is really not what I would call a sustainable success.”
Ellis said the legislature must come up with strategies that are more sustainable over time, including economic diversification, huge improvements in the education system and allocating more resources to assist small businesses.
“If just a fraction of them (small business owners) would add a job every other year, to me, that’s what you call sustainable job growth. West Virginia has put about as few resources as you can put into supporting small businesses,” Ellis said.
Ellis has outspent Takubo. The latest campaign finance report filed on Oct. 22 shows she’s spent more than $76,000 of her total of expenditures of $116,000 on advertising. Ellis’ most recent contributors include the United Food and Commercial Workers International Union, the WV Optometric Physicians PAC, Communication Workers of America and Mylan CEO Heather Bresch. Small business owners have also contributed to her campaign.
She has been endorsed by both business and labor groups.
Takubo had spent more than $60,000 as of Oct. 24. His most recent contributors include a mix of business political action committees, health care groups and some lobbyists.
Takubo said he didn’t run a negative campaign four years ago and he hasn’t this time. He said he stands behind any and all votes that he has cast including votes during the education workers strike earlier this year. He said the Senate majority wanted pay raises to be spread to all state workers and needed to take its time to review the five percent increase the governor later proposed.
“When the governor announced five percent in the one year–that set us back a little bit but we found the money. But that’s the thing, we took the time to make sure we had the money with no tax increases to get those pay raises done and we wanted to make sure everybody got them,” Takubo said.
Ellis said her future hope for the state includes an improved education system.
“I have a vision for West Virginia that says we have a world-class education system, we have a trained workforce that can compete in the 21st Century global economy and we have a state that is so beautiful in terms of its environment that who wouldn’t want to come live here,” she said.
Takubo said it’s an “exciting time” to be a West Virginian.
“When I came in four years ago things were pretty bleak. It was the first time that I truly kind of was starting to feel like my state was drowning,” Takubo said. “If you just look back four years to where we have come from–it’s an exciting time.”
Ellis said after 30-plus years in the development world she could have slipped into retirement and moved to another state but she has chosen to stay in West Virginia where she has raised four daughters.
“I do believe I have a skill-set having worked in community and economic development for 35, 40 years here in this state. So I’m doing this work on a daily basis and I believe there’s a skill-set there that I can bring to the legislature and policy making that maybe others don’t have,” Ellis said.
The 17th District race is one of 16 challenged races in the state Senate in Tuesday’s election.
You can follow comprehensive election night coverage with MetroNews Decision 2018 on radio and live video streaming on the MetroNews Channel at wvmetronews.com beginning at 7:06 Tuesday night.