Clark

The meeting featured a discussion between John Doyle (D-Jefferson, 67), Assistant Majority Whip Wayne Clark (R-Jefferson, 65) and Majority Whip Paul Espinosa (R-Jefferson, 66), answering questions posed by constituents about issues related to Jefferson County.

According to LWVJC President Effie Kallas, this meeting has become a bi-annual tradition for the group to hold for the public.

“The League of Women Voters is a non-partisan organization. We neither support, nor oppose, any political candidate or party. Rather, the League focuses on voter education and gaining a wide base of support for its positions on governmental matters,” Kallas said. “In this vein, the League of Women Voters of Jefferson County has, for years, hosted two regular meetings with our legislative delegation.

“The first, like tonight, occurs just before the legislative session. The purpose [of it], is to let our legislators know which issues are important to us, as they travel to Charleston to do the people’s work,” Kallas said, mentioning the 2022 Regular Session began on Wednesday, and would continue through March 12. “The second meeting occurs just after the legislative session ends in the spring. We gather then for the legislators to tell us what they accomplished in the session.”

Espinosa

The meeting was moderated by longtime LWVJC member Dixie Dunn. Questions she asked the political representatives ranged from state energy diversification to internet access issues in the state.

“Certainly, West Virginia for years has suffered in really having useable broadband in many areas, including in Jefferson County. I will say that there is broad, bi-partisan support for funding [that area],” Espinosa said, mentioning some of the first money received through the CARES Act was devoted to fixing this problem at the beginning of the COVID-19 Pandemic.

Overall, Espinosa indicated his optimism for the immediate future of the state.

“I think we’re probably on track to have an excess of $700 million budget surplus this year, because revenues are continuing to outpace budget projections,” Espinosa said. “There’s already been significant dollars appropriated for broadband, and it’s just really a start of what again promises to be probably somewhere approaching a billion dollars in funding, to help expand broadband in West Virginia.”

While Espinosa indicated he was content with the current teacher’s salary in West Virginia, due to the two recent increases in it over the past couple of years, Doyle voiced his discontent with state employee salaries.

Doyle

“Not just school employees [should be focused on]! Corrections officers, state troopers, human services, caseworkers, you name it — it better go to everybody. I actually, personally, think we ought to be able to get it higher,” Doyle said. “Maybe up to as much as [a] seven percent [increase].”

Doyle also questioned Espinosa’s optimism about the projected budget surplus.

“One thing that’s very important to remember: we do have a very high surplus, but part of that is creative budgeting we did a year ago. . . . It’s better to have a surplus than a deficit,” Doyle said. “A surplus is one-time money, by definition. That can go to something like high-speed internet, but it can’t go for salaries. I want to see that we can afford [longterm expenditures] with revenue, not with using a surplus for that.”

According to Clark, his position aligned with that of both of his fellow legislators.

“I agree with both Delegate Doyle and Delegate Espinosa, especially with Delegate Doyle just said. We’re proposing this five percent increase for all state employees, but that also means we’re going to have to line budget that for the next few years, to make sure that it stays — that it’s not just a one-time [thing],” Clark said.

To watch the recorded Zoom meeting, visit https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A9ab3Y1P1qo.