CHARLESTON, W.Va. — A candidate for governor and former public official says Gov. Jim Justice has failed to address the state’s biggest issues during his first two years in office.
Woody Thrasher, who served as commerce secretary under Justice until June 2018, said it’s apparent Justice is not taking his job seriously enough as the state continues to face problems.
Thrasher, during an appearance last week on MetroNews “Talkline,” noted education as an example; state senators were in Charleston to discuss the Student Success Act, a sweeping bill with multiple provisions aimed at improving academic performance.
“If a real leader had gotten together with the speaker and the president of Senate and the unions, and had real discussions two years ago, I think all of these issues could have been worked out,” he said.
“Here we are two years later. The thing’s in complete disarray. There’s no leadership at the top. This is clearly a very divisive issue, and one with many different aspects that screams for somebody at the top to say let’s get all affected parties around the table, let’s see what we can agree on, let’s see if we can put something forward. It just is not happening,” he added.
Thrasher noted while a complete agreement is difficult, forming a consensus among different factions is possible.
“Ultimately, it’s a majority-rule situation. You get the majority of the folks that agree this is the proper path,” he said. “This is not a popularity contest. You don’t bounce back and forth based on what you think is going to help your ratings. You bounce back and forth based on what you think is going to be best for West Virginians.”
Thrasher announced in April he would challenge Justice in the Republican primary for the seat.