MORGANTOWN, W.VA. — Monongalia County Delegate John Williams says hard work pays off.
Williams, D-Monongalia, is headed to the state Senate after defeating incumbent Senator Mike Oliverio, R-Monongalia, and Libertarian Party candidate Taylor Richmond in Tuesday’s election.
“I congratulate both Senator Oliverio and Taylor Richmond on running fine campaigns,” Wiliams said. “But at the end of the day, we were able to get out, knock a lot of doors, and we had a message that resonated with the people, it would seem, and I’m grateful for their support.”
Williams’ is one of two gains by Democrats in the Senate. The GOP still holds a 30 to 4 advantage.
Williams, who defeated Oliverio by nearly 3,900 votes, noted that constituents openly expressed disapproval of the Republican supermajority and measures passed on a legislative level on the campaign trail. One of the issues that was brought up was funding directed by voters, with the need to address public education funding, with the Hope Scholarship as a point of possible adjustments. These issues, combined with concerns over data center development, are issues Williams hopes to address.
“We need money in our public schools and we need it two years ago, three years ago,” Williams said. “So we need to make sure that we get it done, and we need to make sure that we have our priorities straight when it comes to our finances and funding, public schools are certainly important.”
Williams said one bill he hopes to bring back is his proposed Division of Highways funding formula bill that passed in both the House and the Senate back in 2019 but was vetoed by then-governor and current U.S. Senator Jim Justice. With a seat in the state Senate, Williams hopes to give the measure another try.
“I’m not satisfied with our roads in Marion and Monongalia counties, so I would like to continue that work,” said Williams. “For me, it comes back really to a locality pay for DOH workers, but also back to the funding formula bill.”
Williams also noted that he expects several changes at the legislative level as a result of the Democratic Party wins seen across the Mountain State. This is due in part to the over a dozen seats gained by House of Delegates candidates, including in Monongalia County by Michael Wendell, Eddie Wagoner, and Olivia Miller, as well as additional seats gained in Senate races outside of District 13. Aspects Williams also feels will be seen by voters in Mon and Marion counties in the near future.
“The biggest aspect of this campaign that I think helped us win it was people are tired of one-party rule in West Virginia,” said Williams. “So when it came time to send a Democrat down to try to create some balance, I think in our area and in other areas around the state, that’s what the people decided.”