CHARLESTON, W.Va. – West Virginia’s 7th Senatorial District has its next representative, as Governor Patrick Morrisey appointed former House of Delegates member Zack Maynard to the position.
Morrisey made the announcement that Maynard will replace former Senator Mike Stuart on Thursday after Stuart resigned to take a position with the Trump administration. Maynard believes his experience as a delegate can help him.
“How you get a bill? How do you get the stakeholders? How do you get people around a certain legislation to pass it? Understanding how to do constituent services, I think that’s the biggest thing when it comes to a lot of this stuff, but also what I’ve realized too is a lot of the people that I’ve served with as delegates are now senators,” he said.
Maynard is a native of Harts and graduated from Chapmanville High School. He said his ties to communities all over southern West Virginia make him the perfect fit.
“It’s made for somebody like me. I’m from Lincoln County. I graduated from Logan County, shop in Logan County, pay my taxes in Lincoln County. I bank in Boone County. I have a lot of friends in Boone County, and I was one of the last classes at West Virginia Tech, so I know that eastern Kanawha side,” he said.
The 7th district includes all of Boone, Lincoln, and Logan Counties, as well as part of eastern Kanawha County. He wants to make sure that he provides the same representation to constituents in every corner of his district.
“It’s southern West Virginia, but it is a big district, and for me, I’ll have to get out and beat on those doors in eastern Kanawha County the same I’ll do in Man, West Virginia, so I’m excited to serve those people,” he said.
For his agenda in the Senate, Maynard is looking at an issue that comes close to home for him. He attended vocational school before getting his degree from West Virginia Tech and hopes to provide expanded vocational opportunities for West Virginia high schoolers.
“We go and go throughout America, the generations, and we think that an 18-year-old—we call them a kid now. 40 years, 50 years ago, we were sending them on planes to fight in wars, so I think we need to give more responsibility to the youth and get them ready to go in the workforce,” he said.
Maynard will be formally sworn in to assume his seat on Wednesday.