News
July 20, 2010
Manchin says he'll run for Byrd's Senate seat
By The Associated Press
CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- Gov. Joe Manchin, a centrist Democrat who received national attention earlier this year for his handling of a coal mine disaster that killed 29 workers, announced Tuesday that he will run for the late Robert C. Byrd's U.S. Senate seat.
Manchin's announcement ended speculation on whether the popular Democratic governor would swap the 26 months that would remain in his second term for a chance to serve a similar amount of time left in Byrd's term.
The 62-year-old Manchin's national profile has steadily increased since the former state lawmaker captured the governor's office in 2004 after a term as secretary of state. News audiences around the country saw him comfort victims' families and rally for improved safety and rescue measures following West Virginia coal mining disasters in 2006 and again this year at the Upper Big Branch mine.
"If I am so fortunate and honored to have the support of the people of West Virginia, I can't fill his shoes,'' Manchin said of Byrd. "I can only hope to follow his footsteps and serve the people of West Virginia as best I can.''
The governor's announcement came after he and legislative leaders resolved their differences over the succession process. The legislation, approved late Monday, calls for an Aug. 28 primary and Nov. 2 general election for the seat. It also calls for a four-day candidate filing period, which started Tuesday.
Republicans view their top prospect as Rep. Shelley Moore Capito, R-W.Va. State GOP lawmakers won an amendment in the legislation that allows her to seek Byrd's seat without abandoning her bid for a sixth U.S. House term.
The Nov. 2 winner would take that month over from Carte Goodwin, Manchin's temporary appointee to the seat. The 36-year-old former chief counsel takes his oath of office Tuesday.
Manchin briefed his cabinet and staff during a closed-door meeting in advance of his morning announcement.
Manchin has won praise from such groups as the Cato Institute for his conservative approach to state finances and his push for gradual tax cuts benefiting both businesses and consumers.
West Virginia has so far avoided the painful state layoffs, tax hikes and reduced government services suffered in many other states amid the recession and recovery.
Manchin carried all 55 counties in 2008 when he was elected to a second term as governor, winning nearly 70 percent of the vote.
Earlier this month, Manchin became the chairman of the National Governors Association for a one-year term.
Groups ranging from the West Virginia Chamber of Commerce to the state AFL-CIO had urged Manchin to appoint himself to the seat in the wake of Byrd's death.
July 19, 2010
Lawmakers approve, sign compromise special election bill
By Phil Kabler
The Charleston Gazette
CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- State lawmakers passed and Gov. Joe Manchin signed legislation Monday night providing for special elections to fill the late Robert C. Byrd's unexpired term in the U.S. Senate -- after the bill's chances looked all but hopeless on Monday morning.
"The 17th Amendment to the Constitution is alive and well," Manchin said during a 9:15 p.m. bill signing, referring to the amendment that provides for popular election of U.S. senators.
The governor, who has said he is "highly likely" to run for the Senate seat, said he will make his intentions known today
Manchin signed the bill into law just hours after a House-Senate conference committee reached a compromise on the legislation.
Shortly after 8:15 p.m., the House passed the compromise bill without discussion on an 83-7 vote -- then in a key vote, made the bill effective immediately on an 85-5 vote.
A half-hour later, the Senate passed the bill 29-0, sending it to the governor.
Efforts to revive the bill Monday included a rare visit by the governor to House chambers to garner support for a compromise from reluctant House Republicans, as well as from seven House Democrats who had voted Saturday against making the bill effective from passage.
Asked if he had worked out a compromise, Manchin said at the time, "We're getting there."
On Monday evening, House and Senate conferees met officially for the first time, and emerged after about 45 minutes with a compromise bill that resolved concerns House Republicans had regarding the legislation:
| It strictly applies only to the 2010 elections to fill Byrd's term, leaving it to future lawmakers to correct long-standing inconsistencies in the state's senatorial succession law.
Secretary of State Natalie Tennant is to submit a report to the Legislature in January analyzing the 2010 special election -- presumably to set the groundwork for legislation to correct the loopholes in the senatorial succession law.
| It clarifies a variety of filing deadlines and other dates leading up to the Aug. 28 special primary and Nov. 2 special election to elect a senator to fill what will be roughly two years and two months remaining in Byrd's term.
That includes a narrow four-day filing period for candidates, which opens Tuesday> at 8:30 a.m. and ends at 5 p.m. on Friday.
Sen. Mike Oliverio, D-Monongalia, said that is one of several timelines that had to be compressed for the special elections, which will begin with the special primary in five weeks.
"The timelines are obviously very compressed, and a [typical] filing deadline of three weeks was just not practical," Oliverio said.
Tennant said the compromise still gives her office enough flexibility to issue any emergency orders that may be needed to address unanticipated issues that may arise with the elections.
| It clarifies that the special election is distinct from the 2010 general election -- clearing the way for Rep. Shelley Moore Capito, R-W.Va. to run for both the Senate seat and for re-election to her House seat, should she choose that option.
Senate Minority Leader Mike Hall, R-Putnam, said the provision applies to any number of candidates who won primary elections in May and are already locked in as candidates on the November general election ballot -- who otherwise would be prevented from running for the U.S. Senate seat.
"There are probably more than 400 qualified candidates who can't run for Senate, because they are already on the [2010] ballot," Hall said of the current law.
Capito couldn't be reached Monday to be asked whether she might run simultaneously for the U.S. Senate seat and also seek another term in the House of Representatives.
The Gazette made repeated phone calls and e-mails to her staff, inquiring whether Capito would attempt the double campaign. Late Monday, aide Jamie Corley said Capito was aboard an airplane flying to Washington, and would answer the inquiry as soon as possible.
A key issue earlier Monday was whether the House could get the minimum of 67 "yes" votes to make the bill effective from passage.
That's needed because bills usually go into effect 90 days after they're passed -- and 90 days from now is mid-October, well after the Aug. 28 date set for the special primary election.
As late as noon on Monday, that seemed to be in doubt.
"It is clearly the intent of the House to pass the bill," Speaker Rick Thompson, D-Wayne, said at the time. "We just don't have the votes to make it effective from passage."
House Minority Leader Tim Armstead, R-Kanawha, said House Republicans never opposed having a special election for the unexpired term this fall, but wanted to make sure the process was transparent and fair to all sides.
"We want an election," he said. "We want a fair election and we the process to be fair and open."
Earlier Monday, Oliverio said members of the House and Senate had kept discussions going, even when it appeared there was little hope for passage of the bill.
"We've tried to work with them on all their objections," said Oliverio, a member of a House-Senate conference committee that had been meeting informally and privately since Saturday trying to reach a compromise.
Also Monday, Delegate Mark Hunt, D-Kanawha, apologized for missing key votes on the House floor Saturday.
One of the reasons the House was unable to secure the 67 votes needed to make the bill effective from passage was that 15 of the 100 members of the House were absent Saturday, including 13 Democrats.
Hunt, a Charleston lawyer, said he was trying to get back from a trial in Tampa, Fla, on Saturday, but his connecting flight from Charlotte into Charleston was cancelled. He said he then booked a flight into Huntington's Tri-State Airport, but the FAA cancelled all flights into Tri-State Saturday because the airport had run out of jet fuel.
Hunt said he ultimately rented a car and drove back to Charleston, arriving after midnight Sunday.
July 16, 2010
Manchin names Goodwin to fill Byrd's seat
By Phil Kabler
The Charleston Gazette
CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- Gov. Joe Manchin on Friday appointed his former chief counsel, Charleston lawyer Carte Goodwin, to temporarily fill the U.S. Senate seat of the late Robert C. Byrd.
Manchin, who made the announcement to an overflow crowd in the governor's reception room at the Capitol, called it significant that Goodwin, 36, will become the youngest member of the Senate, succeeding the longest-serving and oldest U.S. senator.
The governor said that while the Senate seat in some ways will always be thought of as Byrd's, "I think today we've honored him by choosing a worthy replacement."
Goodwin, a member of arguably the most prominent political family in West Virginia, worked as Manchin's chief lawyer during his first term as governor.
He has never held political office, but Manchin said Goodwin's experience drafting legislation and working to get bills passed in the Legislature amount to a wealth of experience.
"He's been more intimately involved in the process than anybody else I know," Manchin said of Goodwin's work as chief counsel. "I don't know anybody better qualified -- anybody."
Now-senior Sen. Jay Rockefeller, D-W.Va., was on hand for the announcement and welcomed Goodwin to the Senate, saying he looked forward to working with him.
"I can't tell you how proud I am, professionally and personally, that, in three or four days, Carte Goodwin and I are going to be colleagues," Rockefeller said.
Rockefeller said Goodwin will be sworn in as a senator at 2:15 p.m. Tuesday.
Immediately afterward, he will cast the decisive vote to restore a federally funded extension of unemployment benefits, Rockefeller said.
The previous extension of benefits from 26 weeks to 99 weeks expired on May 31, and with Byrd's absence, Senate Democrats lacked the 60th vote necessary to restore the extension.
During his comments, Rockefeller said he had an "inside source" to advise him of Goodwin's "absolute commitment to West Virginians."
Goodwin's wife, Rochelle, is director of Rockefeller's state office in Charleston.
Goodwin said Rockefeller's office has determined there is no conflict of interest for her to continue working for the senator. Also, he said his wife, who is due to deliver their second child early next month, will be on maternity leave for part of his roughly four-month tenure in the Senate.
Goodwin, whose political aspirations include a possible future run for Congress, said he will not run for election for the remaining two years in Byrd's unexpired term -- a seat Manchin has said he is "highly likely" to seek.
Legislators are expected to complete work in special session Saturday on a bill that would provide for a special election for the Senate seat on Nov. 2.
The Gazette first reported Wednesday that Goodwin had emerged as the front-runner for the temporary appointment, from a short list that included former state Democratic Party Chairman Nick Casey and former Gov. Gaston Caperton.
Manchin confirmed Friday that he had long had Casey in mind as Byrd's replacement, but said Casey's pending nomination as a federal judge made that impossible.
"It's something I could not ask my best friend to do, to give up a lifetime appointment to the bench," Manchin said.
In accepting the appointment, Goodwin said, "I will have no agenda other than to work and fight hard every day for the people of West Virginia."
Goodwin said he is grateful for the support of his family, and said he is confident that his father, who died in April, will be looking down at him.
Asked about being a member of the politically prominent family, Goodwin said he does not believe there is such a thing as an elite family in West Virginia.
Goodwin's father, Steve, who died in April, had chaired West Virginia University's board of governors.
Goodwin's uncle, Joseph R. Goodwin, is the chief federal judge in Southern West Virginia. His aunt, Kay Goodwin, is head of the state Department of Education and the Arts. His cousin, Booth Goodwin, is U.S. Attorney for the state's Southern District.
A native of Mount Alto, Jackson County, Goodwin has a bachelor's degree from Marietta College and a law degree from Emory University. He and his wife have one son, Wesley.
Political reaction to Goodwin's appointment broke down largely along party lines. Rep. Shelley Moore Capito, R-W.Va., said she would work with Goodwin, but lamented the politics involving in choosing Byrd's successor.
"It is apparent that many elected officials, and particularly the person ultimately charged with calling a special election, have been more focused on political maneuvers to further their own political ambitions before fulfilling the obligations of their office on behalf of the people they were elected to serve," said Capito, whom many political observers believe will seek the Senate seat, either this year or in 2012.
Democrats, including President Obama and U.S. Rep. Nick Rahall, D-W.Va., support the move. Obama called Goodwin an excellent choice as Byrd's successor and said he would ensure that West Virginians' voices "are heard in Washington now until they can be heard at the polls in November."
July 13, 2010
Manchin to name Senate appointee by Friday
By Phil Kabler, Staff writer
The Charleston Gazette
CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- Gov. Joe Manchin released a draft Tuesday evening of proposed legislation to provide for a special election to fill Robert C. Byrd's vacant U.S. Senate seat on Nov. 2.
Manchin also announced Tuesday that he plans to make an appointment to temporarily fill the Senate vacancy by the end of the workday on Friday -- presumably after the Legislature will have passed the legislation clarifying senatorial succession law.
Last week, Manchin announced he will call the Legislature into special session at noon Thursday to clean up discrepancies in state law for filling Senate vacancies.
Under the draft bill released Tuesday, the governor will have authority to call a special election to fill the vacancy by executive proclamation.
The bill specifies that the special election is to coincide with the regularly scheduled off-year general election, set for Nov. 2.
It also mandates that nominees to run for Byrd's unexpired term are to be selected in a special primary election to be held at least 60 days prior to the special election.
That would mean the special primary election would take place on or before Sept. 3.
However, the bill also spells out that, if only one candidate from a political party files to run in the special primary, that candidate shall be declared the party's nominee, and "his or her name shall not be printed on a ballot for the special primary election."
That sets up the possibility that the special primary could be waived, if each party certifies only one person as its candidate.
The bill also clarifies that the state -- not counties -- will pay the costs of the special election.
"The governor's bill is very simple," Manchin legislative affairs director Jim Pitrolo said in a prepared statement. "The bill would merely clarify the state code, so that there is no question that we could have a special primary and special general election."
Greenbrier Classic gives back to charities
Plans to raise funds for miners' families, other organizations slated for Greenbrier Classic
by Jared Hunt
Daily Mail staff
LEWISBURG, W.Va.--While the Greenbrier Classic is sure to be an economic boost to Greenbrier County and the state, the golf event also is giving back to charities in the region.
When PGA tour member Kenny Perry announced last week his commitment to play in this month's tournament, Perry went one step further and said for every birdie he shot on the course, he would donate $2,000 to the families of those lost in the Upper Big Branch Mine disaster.
"Growing up in Kentucky, as a neighbor to West Virginia, I feel a close connection to the area," he said. "Miners work so hard to provide for their families, and I have a tremendous amount of respect for what they do.
"I want to show that respect by dedicating my week at The Greenbrier Classic to the 29 men who lost their lives in April. The Greenbrier Classic will be a great event, and I'm hoping that others will join me to make it a special week for these families, too."
Jim Justice, The Greenbrier's owner, has agreed to match Perry's donation, which will be given to the families through the West Virginia Council of Churches.
"We are delighted to have Kenny Perry joining us for The Greenbrier Classic because family is the foundation for not only our community here in West Virginia, but also this resort, and he is exemplifying that through his concern for these families and his generosity," Justice said.
It was unclear if other golfers would follow Perry's lead, but Justice said the tournament would work to find ways for everyone, including fans, to contribute to the cause during the event.
The Greenbrier and PGA Tour officials also have committed to assisting the First Tee Chapters of West Virginia and the Roanoke Valley through a special Greenbrier Classic Youth Day on July 27.
The First Tee is a World Golf Foundation nonprofit organization that has introduced the game of golf and its values to 3.5 million participants nationwide since its inception in 1997.
Events will include a fundraising brunch, youth golf clinic and four-hole scramble game featuring PGA tour players. It is designed to help the organization promote youth development and values enhancement through the game of golf.
"It's events like these that allow kids of all ages to learn valuable lessons through the game and have a great day with family and friends along the way," said Jennifer Blackwood, executive director of The First Tee of Roanoke.