Marshall County Senator Jeff Kessler was once again elected President of the Senate. He took to floor Wednesday to thank his fellow senators for the honor and to talk about what’s ahead in the upcoming Legislative session.
He says big challenges from the past including workers comp, OPEB and Marcellus Shale, have prepared the Senate for what they’ll face during the 2013 session.
“As we face this upcoming session, balancing the budget, prison overcrowding, education reform, I can tell you I am comfortable and confident that we will not only face those challenges, we will find solutions that will change this state positively,” says Kessler.
With a decline in revenue, Kessler says it’s not going to be easy and tough choices will be made. But he says he find comfort in the fact that the Senate isn’t a divided body.
“We don’t have Democrat problems. We don’t have Republican problems. We have West Virginia problems. I intend to solve them and work with you to solve them,” according to Kessler.
He says the true strength of the Senate is the willingness of every member to do what’s right for West Virginia.
“Every single time that I can recall that there’s been a problem or crisis in this state, it has been the Senate, truthfully, that has stepped to the forefront, stepped to plate, looked for the solutions with their nose to the grindstone and got the work done for the betterment of this state.”
Kessler was first elected Senate President in 2010. He said in Wednesday’s speech, “The best is yet to come.”