CHARLESTON, W.Va. — Huntington Mayor Steve Williams admits it’s probably the worst kept secret–his decision to run for governor.
Williams did make it somewhat official Thursday when he filed pre-candidacy papers at the Secretary of State’s Office at the state capitol.
The three-term Democratic mayor has been talking about running for months. He said Thursday on MetroNews “Talkline” that he’s even more sure now. He said what’s happening in West Virginia reminds him of what Huntington faced when he first decided to seek the mayor’s job more than a decade ago.
“There were so many different issues that had been kicked down the road. We’ve had to face things absolutely head-on, directly and I think this is much of the same thing that has to occur in West Virginia,” Williams said.
The issues, according to Williams, include the ongoing state of emergency in corrections, higher education funding, the operation of the state police and the foster care system.
“When I was elected mayor of Huntington we had pension problems, we had fiscal problems, we had problems with opioids. One thing we learned is that you can’t kick it down the road,” Williams said.
Today on #Talkline with @HoppyKercheval
Huntington Mayor and Democratic Gubernatorial Candidate Steve Williams discusses his filing for pre-candidacy papers.
Full interview here – https://t.co/yCFQ3nDJuy pic.twitter.com/pwBKUWV5nl
— MetroNews (@WVMetroNews) October 26, 2023
Williams said he realizes that some voters will tune him out because he’s a Democrat but he said he believes many others will listen.
“When they start to hear what I’ve done in Huntington and how it can be translated to the state,” Williams said. “When they start hearing, actually hearing those things, that they’re going to give a second and third opportunity to start thinking about me.”
The official filing deadline begins in January.