Gov. Jim Justice held off taking his seat in the U.S. Senate to avoid a situation where West Virginia would have multiple people serving as the chief executive until Governor-elect Patrick Morrisey is sworn in this coming Monday.
Justice chief of staff, Brian Abraham, said this week’s winter storm response is a prime example of why Justice made that decision.
“Absolutely, I mean this underscores what the governor’s concerns were. We know in West Virginia these kinds of storms can pop up at any time during our winter months,” Abraham said today on MetroNews’ “Talkline.”
“The governor was really concerned about staff turning over, things that could get missed. And so it’s not enough just to declare a state of emergency on paper. You have to know the resources to reach out to, got to make sure you have the right people in the place at the right locations. All of those things were issues that he was concerned about when you have such short terms between the governorships that would have happened with the transition like that.”
Representatives and senators were sworn in last Friday, January 3. But Justice, a Republican, opted to remain in his current position.
West Virginia’s next governor, Morrisey, is set to be inaugurated on Jan. 13.
So there’s a 10-day gap between when U.S. senators typically take office and when West Virginia’s new governor will be inaugurated.
The state Senate president, who constitutionally serves as the lieutenant governor, would typically fill any absence — but that has been an evolving situation too after the defeat of current Senate president Craig Blair in last spring’s Republican primary election.
The state Senate’s Republican majority earlier this month selected Randy Smith of Preston County to be nominated as the next president of the chamber. Smith is now in line to be officially selected Wednesday, when the Legislature next gathers for a day of organization.
So if Justice had not opted to remain in position for the 10-day period, West Virginia could have wound up with four people filling the leadership role.
“My commitment has always been to the people of West Virginia. You know, I love our people beyond good sense. They’ve entrusted in me, and I don’t think they deserve a whole lot of chaos,” Justice said during a December administration briefing when he was still making up his mind about what to do.
This past Sunday, Justice declared a statewide emergency ahead of a winter storm that walloped West Virginia.
The current administration said that meant several levels of coordinated response:
- The West Virginia National Guard strategically staged personnel and equipment at armories across the state in preparation for potential response needs.
- The West Virginia Division of Highways got a jump on addressing weather-related challenges, working diligently to stay ahead of the storm and ensure roadways remain passable.
- Emergency Management officials started closely monitoring developments and coordinating efforts to ensure a swift and effective response, with teams in place for rapid support if necessary.
Abraham said those moves were effective.
“We’re very satisfied with the efforts of both the National Guard and the Department of Transportation,” Abraham said.
“The Guard immediately put civil affairs teams at six different locations in the state to provide support. Typically, these are chainsaw crews and other trucks that help open roadways, get people established back into their residences that might be out. And then our highways department has had over 1,000 plows out on the roads.”