The Democrat candidate for Agriculture Commissioner in West Virginia says he is willing to debate the issues with his Republican opponent in the November General Election.
"Are you avoiding a head to head debate with Kent Leonhardt?" Host Hoppy Kercheval asked Pocahontas County State Senator Walt Helmick on Thursday’s MetroNews Talkline.
"No," was the answer from Senator Helmick.
Leonhardt, though, has claimed Helmick has been unwilling to commit to a debate, despite his repeated attempts to arrange one over the past several months.
"You’re agreeing to a head to head debate with Kent Leonhardt?" Kercheval asked to clarify.
"Oh yeah, I’ve had five of them, I’ll have another one. That’s not a problem," Helmick said referencing his debates involving the four other Democrat candidates before the May Primary Election.
Helmick splits his time between Charleston and Minnehaha Springs where he and his wife run a natural spring water bottling company. He is a native of Webster County and a former teacher.
First elected to the House in 1988, Helmick was appointed to the Senate in 1989, and reelected to the Senate every year after that, starting in 1990. Up until former Senate President Earl Ray Tomblin’s move to the Governor’s Office, Helmick had served as Senate Finance Chair.
Senator Helmick says, because of his work and legislative history, he is more than qualified to be Agriculture Commissioner.
He references part of the job description. "It says that the Commissioner of Agriculture shall administer and propose legislation by the West Virginia Legislature. Now, obviously, you’re looking at somebody that’s been doing that for 25 years," Senator Helmick said.
With tighter budget times ahead and cuts to the $65 million dollar agriculture budget needed, "Who’s the best qualified to do that?" Helmick asked. "To work the current legislators that are in place, to make sure that we have a budget that supports the farming communities in West Virginia?"
Leonhardt says he would be better for the job. A farmer from Monongalia County and a retired Marine Corps Lieutenant Colonel, he claims Senator Helmick is not a true farmer.
Helmick dismisses those criticisms. "The Ag Commissioner is an administrator to administer that office of 350 employees with a $65 million budget and to move that agency forward," he said.
Carl Andrew Waggoner from White Sulphur Springs is a write in candidate for Agriculture Commissioner.
The winner in November will replace longtime Agriculture Commissioner Gus Douglass who is wrapping up his 11th term in office and preparing to retire. Douglass first became Ag Commissioner, a position that also oversees food safety, in 1964.
Helmick’s appearance on Thursday’s MetroNews Talkline is one in a series of interviews Hoppy Kercheval is conducting with the statewide candidates leading up to the November General Election.
Election Day is Tuesday, November 6th.