When we visited Mercer County, we saw local residents working on economic and community development. But we also heard that they could use more help from the state on these efforts. We saw some residents who were experiencing homelessness. We heard from major employers that they need more state support, especially in funding benefits for public employees at local hospitals and schools.
As part of Mountain State Spotlight’s “Citizens Agenda” approach to covering this year’s elections, we asked candidates for the area’s 37th District House of Delegates seat about these issues. House Majority Whip Marty Gearhart is a six-term Republican. Polla McClennan Rumberg is the Democratic challenger.
Find out which House district you live in here.
These interviews have been edited for clarity and length.
We asked: There are downtown redevelopment efforts in both Bluefield and Princeton. What would you do as a legislator to ensure the state is supporting those efforts?
Gearheart: I don’t know that the state has done a tremendous amount of support for those, other than the historic tax credits that are available for investors downtown. The cities have obligations to take care of their citizens and the things that they do within their community. But I don’t believe that the legislature needs to get in the way of them doing that. And I don’t believe that we have.
Context: A 25% tax credit for historic buildings undergoing rehabilitation was made permanent in 2021. The tax credit is given for qualified renovations being done to a historic building.
Polla McClellan Rumberg: The development that is taking place in both cities is very well established. I would just join what they’re doing. I do not have any direct involvement with what’s going on with them. But of course, I would, if I found myself in a political position. Let me just say that my role would be assistance. I like to see people develop their own programs and provide assistance externally.
We asked: I interviewed the heads of two of the larger employers in the area, Concord University and WVU Medicine. Over at Concord, there is concern among faculty and staff regarding raises in the cost of PEIA. Over at WVU Medicine, they are happy with the rise in the reimbursement rate from PEIA. What would you do to help support employees who are covered and providers who rely on it as revenue?
Gearheart: We certainly have worked very hard to ensure that the appropriate state funding is available to higher education, and that includes Concord and Bluefield State in our area as well as Blue Ridge Community College. Since they’re a special revenue institution, we do not cover or control their specific payroll with those raises.
With regard to the hospitals, I think that the reimbursement was important. I think that they have been under reimbursed for some considerable period of time. If it were my business, and I couldn’t at least break even, I would probably not consider accepting that business either.
Folks are upset about PEIA.
However, the price of PEIA is considerably less than what’s available on the market. So the reality is, it’s a pretty decent insurance system for the price. However, I don’t know long term that it is sustainable for the state. Typically when the state’s involved in doing business, it doesn’t do business very well. Private enterprise tends to do business better and you get better service and better coverage at a better price.
I think that that would be true had not the state been subsidizing it for many years. And I don’t know if we will be able to continue to subsidize PEIA for a long period of time.
I don’t really know what the answer is to PEIA. If it were sold to those utilizing it — and I utilize it — at the price that it truly should be, there will be a lot of gnashing of teeth. I don’t know what the real answer is there that would be politically palatable.
Context: PEIA, the health insurance for state employees such as troopers, teachers and caseworkers, is a recurring issue in state politics. Here’s more background on the latest changes to the program.
Rumberg: I’m very concerned about the delivery of services at Princeton, under the new leadership with WVU. And my priority is to make sure that the services are upgraded. And there are delays in being able to get served, there are deficiencies in staffing. Those logistics are the ones that I’m most concerned about.
Well, I’m very concerned about my teacher colleagues. I’ve been a PEIA recipient. I am very concerned about my colleagues who are saying that their raises are very often just absorbed by increases in the PEIA contributions that they have to make to maintain their services. That is very concerning to me, because there’s no way in the world that the teachers can keep pace with inflation.
Context: In an interview WVU Medicine Princeton Community Hospital President Karen Bowling said while there are some worker shortages, the hospital has fared better than other parts of the state.
We asked: One thing I noticed, particularly in downtown Bluefield, was a number of people who were either homeless or on the edge of being homeless. A recent state report noted this problem is getting worse statewide, and more funding is needed to help communities and individuals. What would you do about this?
Gearheart: I don’t know what the homeless population is here. I’m sure there are some. I don’t see it very frequently.
My inclination is that people need a hand up not a handout.
Oftentimes, people who are homeless don’t want a hand up.
In other words, they are simply looking to subsist on whatever someone else is willing to give. The state has committed a large number of dollars, $10 million last special session, to the Posey Perry fund that does feed those particular individuals.
But my inclination is that most people that are homeless, that’s what they want to be. And so I’m not certain what exactly to do to dissuade people from doing what it is that they want to do.
And I don’t believe that they have the right to infringe upon the rights of other people who live freely in a society that’s not people throwing trash or sleeping on the street or that kind of thing that are probably a public nuisance and/or a hazard to public safety.
Rumberg: Well, the devastation of our people, and especially the people in the coalfield counties of West Virginia, is my primary concern. That is the basis of my platform.
I have traveled all the counties in southern West Virginia and I have seen firsthand where abandoned properties are being broken into and lived in by vagrants, because these are homeless people who are unable to afford any kind of housing.
So being in an abandoned house with no electricity, no heat, no water is preferable to having to live out in the woods, which is one of their other alternatives.
When I worked in the food pantry at the Catholic Church, I noticed that many of the people who were recipients of the food services would say that they had slept out on people’s front porches, with their permission. They have been so in need of a safe place to stay that they have had to resort to those kinds of accommodations. Talk to people who had to bathe in public restrooms. Service station restrooms were preferable because you could go in there and lock the door.
It’s just unconscionable the degree of poverty in this area.
And we also know that there are many people from the North, who will come down to West Virginia, in winter, because our winters are milder than their winters are up there. And there are people from the South who come up to West Virginia for housing, because it’s too hot to live outside in the South. And so this is what I understand. When I talk to people on the street, I notice that a lot of them are from out of state and when I ask them, that’s what they tell me.
But just because there have always been homeless people doesn’t mean that we should turn our backs and excuse homelessness, as it becomes more of a problem.
The number of homeless people is on the rise and it’s just unacceptable.
So what I would like to see is I would like to see respite communities built, where people who were homeless could live in accommodations until they were able to procure more reliable housing. I would like to see that with a police presence to protect against drug infestations and, and to make sure that people were safe from harm when they were out in the elements.
Context: The Department of Human Services report found most people experiencing homelessness interviewed by the agency were either native West Virginians or had lived in the state for a long time.
We asked: Is there anything else you would like to add that we haven’t touched on?
Gearheart: It seems to me you address a lot of issues that are far afield for what I address and my party addresses.
I would prefer to talk about lessening the tax burden on all West Virginians. Anyone that works and pays taxes, pays less now.
They got an additional automatic decrease recently, and then a potential additional decrease. If you’re out here working and contributing, you’re going to have a little bit more money in your pocket.
I’m not indicating to you that there aren’t any homeless population, but I don’t know that that’s our major problem on our path towards prosperity. I think we need to get those folks to be productive like the balance of society so that they can take advantage of the good things here as opposed to simply deciding to be a burden on society.
Context: The tax cut Gearheart is referring to is the personal income tax cut passed in the 2023 session. That cut includes a built-in trigger that automatically reduces taxes if certain collection metrics are met. This summer, Gov. Jim Justice announced that the trigger was met and he will be calling for an additional tax cut during a special session in August.
Rumberg: The main reason why I’m running is that I am concerned about the dissolution of the two party system in West Virginia. I think that we are obligated to have a fully functioning bipartisan system. Whenever those numbers get as skewed as they are now, in the state of West Virginia, the whole system breaks down. And I believe that there needs to be an increased presence of both parties.
