This year, West Virginians are #WokeAF. But many WV legislators are still acting as if we’re not paying attention. They may learn differently; scroll down to vote in our poll!
Unfortunately, rather than working on ways to generate jobs, diversify our state economy, fix infrastructure, help extraction communities, and attract new business, legislators introduced bills to do things like weaken water protections, attack property values, force citizens to lease mineral rights against their wills through Forced Pooling, eliminate the Women’s Commission, establish the Bible as the official state book, reduce funding for education, and other things that funnel our wealth to industry special interests—those who purchased these politicians in the first place.
What were they thinking?
Even budget proposals were all designed to give tax breaks to the wealthiest 20%, while increasing taxes on working people and the middle class. Jim Justice actually toured the state to tell people to tighten their belts, while his own businesses are delinquent in paying 4.4 million dollars in taxes to WV.
It’s as if he said, “Hey, you! Yeah, you, the guy who irresponsibly had a heart attack and now you can’t afford to buy your child shoes that fit? YOU will need to pay 30% more a year in taxes.”
I mean, really?
The best thing that came out of the session—legalizing medical cannabis—was changed at the last minute by the “Shott amendment” into a bill that reduces access for suffering people by forcing them to buy it from a small number of licensed growers. Plus, his amendment made sure that the cost of a license sets barriers to entry for anyone who’s not wealthy.
How do we fix the legislature? Let’s focus on voting out the worst of the worst. Let us know the legislators you MOST want to see unseated in 2018.
Please select as many choices for Worst WV Legislator as you like.
I couldn’t list every reason you might oppose these legislators in the space. If your legislator is listed above but I failed to mention the WORST thing s/he did, please tell your story below in the comments. And if I missed anyone, please let me know, so I can keep that in mind when compiling the 2018 contenders!
Are you among the #WokeAF in WV this year? Then get the featured #WokeAF button here, and wear it to show your legislators YOU’RE WATCHING what they’re trying to do to us.
Finally: if you want better WV legislators, remember 2018 is an election year! Run for office yourself, or support good candidates who’ll stand up for you:
- You can contribute to a slate of pro-cannabis legalization candidates here.
- You can contribute to a slate of pro-property rights candidates here.
- You can receive other campaign buttons here.
- You can get other merch or just contribute here.
The Appalachian Oracle 
I agree with needing to get rid of most of the legislators on this list! My personal priority is Marty Gearhart R, from Mercer. Why? He sponsors and votes for EVERY BAD bill anybody proposes!
He also lives in my district and is a particularly poor politician who gets the least number of votes of all the extreme bad legislators in district 27. John Shott is also on my list. Glad to see him getting the flack he deserves. He’s next on my list.
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Takubo!!! Voting based on personal gain/ interests!
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Ron Stollings
Dropping “F” bombs on constituents and fellow senators. Hiding out with Beach, Plymale and Unger in an office, refusing to attend a senate education committee meeting because they did not want to hear opposing testimony. Your tax dollars at work. Shameful and not men of integrity.
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Hmm. I hadn’t heard that any of them refused to attend a meeting; any source for your allegations? Of course I haven’t read every story; it’s possible I missed some reporting?
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Dana Lynch has been unmasked & his true undesirable colors have been brought to the surface. I have voted for Lynch previously but that will not happen again. NO public servant whether elected or appointed should never use their politics influence to get involved in … this “I am Richwood” anti-schools Consolidation plan here in Nicholas County. Their wants, not needs, goes against all common sense, decency and fairness as set forth in the age old wisdom of “The needs of the MANY (pro-consolidation) far outweighs the desires of the few (anti-consolidation mob).
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I don’t know a lot about this issue, but I do understand the desire to save a good school. There’s an article I found here for those who want to read about this consolidation issue.
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From what I have personally seen, the citizens of Richwood have very valid concerns about the county school board appropriating the money which was meant to fix their school after a devastating flood to build an entirely different school on the other end of the county, to the great detriment of the town of Richwood and its students.
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I keep hearing versions of this same scheme from different WV towns and counties. Over normal people’s objections, somebody decides it’s time to build an expensive new school instead of fix/maintain the old one(s)– gives a pretty good incentive to deliberately run a school into dangerous disrepair so that someone can get that sweet new-school-cash.
Shameful.
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Kelli Sobonya (Cabell County)
Votes along with the Republican Party Lines regardless. The only thing she’s been instrumental in is Lily’s Place in Huntington along with the help of US Representative Evan Jenkins (also from Huntington).
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Carol D. Miller
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Votes with Party (Republican) rather than the wishes of her constituents. She is also a member of ALEC. I support NO ONE that is a member of ALEC including US Senator Joe Manchin.
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Chuck Romine
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Robert Karnes, who watches the ALEC website during session to see how to vote. Was behind right to work, “Workplace Freedom” act, religious exemptions and other right-wing shit. Believes the radiation from oil and gas is OK. Doesn’t see the harm in letting radiation into our water from fracking operations, even though I told him radium-226 has a half-life of 1600 years and causes cancer. Believes solar is so inefficient it would be prohibitively expensive to produce the panels when it’s actually cheaper than coal. Believes climate change is a hoax meant to make Al Gore rich.
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Good heavens.
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Just as a note: I see I totally should have included Karnes, you’re right. Have you seen this story about how he thinks we can save on Medicaid by cutting funding for transgender surgeries? Since our current funding for that is zero, it’s just insanity springing from homophobia, evidently. He seems divorced from reality—and math—which can’t be a good thing for your constituents.
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Lisa,
I was present for that education committee meeting and was also present with the group he dropped his foul language on. There almost wasn’t a quorum. I have a picture of their 4 empty seats. They were found holed up in an office by the Sargent of arms.
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Robert Karnes is in my Senate District. I was not aware he actually relies on ALEC and their website during session in order to cast his votes. However, ALEC has NO business operating in WV whatsoever and I want them out by any means possible. So Karnes is now my #1 Target… followed by Shott then by Armstead.
I also have some concerns about Kelli Sobonya (Cabell Co.) Nothing specific that I can say right now, beyond “differences of opinion” regarding several different bills this session. One bill related to drug offenses and proposed extending prison length time but without providing any treatment services. She was for the bill, supposedly “to protect children” involved; I was against the bill, since with longer prison time and no treatment, we’re essentially asking for a huge situation of kids who are messed up in the end (emotionally/ psychologically, if nothing else.)
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Brenda, I should have included Karnes, for sure. Have you seen this story? I’m not sure he has a good grasp on reality.
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Craig Blair needs to go. He was instrumental last year in passing the ‘right to work’ law which as we all know goes against those who work for companies with unions. Between Senator Blair and his daughter, Rep. Saira Blair we have two legislators who vote against the working class and one of them is too young and inexperienced to be a competent legislator. Then there is Senator Karnes who is so despicable I have no civil words to describe him and his actions but he obviously does all he can to hurt the working class..
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I just recently saw this crazy story about Karnes. What in the world! We need people in our legislature who’ll support the working class. Also people who are opposed to discrimination of all sorts.
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Amy Summers, Taylor County. A so-called medical professional who thinks it is acceptable to dump cancer-causing chemicals into WV water resources,and does not understand cumulative effect. She also believes the Reefer Madness mythology of the Nixon Era and votes against allowing cancer sufferers, epileptics and veterans suffering from PTSD to avail themselves of treatment. She has consistently voted in support of the fossil fuel industry over the health and safety and property rights of her constituents.
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Don’t forget that Kessinger voted for the bill that would have defunded WV Public Broadcasting!
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Good point! Yes, those short overviews really do leave out a lot.
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“Boogie” Ambler from Greenbrier has got to go! He needs at the top of this list. Long live Stephen Baldwin!
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GREG BOSO He is a snake in the grass. he said he wouldn’t get involved with local issues when we were trying to get him to help Richwood save our schools. but he proprosed a bill that would take away the state’s authority to make that decision and leave it up to the local board. which as he said himself that his firm would be bidding on the jobs that will come open in building a consolidated school. and if he bids almost assuredly he will get it. they are all being crooked about the whole thing. the local board of education is building the school 27 miles away and the kids will be on the bus at least an hour and a half each way. this is suppose to be an equal oppotunity for all the students in nicholas co? i don’t even thinks so. but all the big wigs in summersville will profit big time. boso has already received money from the nicholas county board of education for tearing down the flood damaged schools. he won that bid and he will win all the others,
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Greg Boso. Single handedly proposed legislation that would significantly line his pocket. Only out for himself.
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That’s two for him in a row!
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What about Mitch Carmichael? I thought he was speaker or something, and I disagree with everything he says. As for my own rep, Azinger, you already got his opposition to the medical marijuana bill, but not his ignorant statement that “Marijuana is a dangerous as heroin.”
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Carmichael is the Senate President (Armstead is Speaker of the House). Believe me, there were a lot of contenders we missed! 🙂
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by the way–I love your avatars!
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Thanks–I think they’re adorable, too!
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Mitch Carmichael WV’s clone of Mitch McConnell! Send him home! Too many reasons to enumerate. The theme for this year’s session was Nero fiddled while Rome burned! And we, the people, are Rome!
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Lynne Arvon … Lynne represents the poorest section of Raleigh County, yet votes for Legislation that does not improve the lives of the less fortunate, but improves the lives of the well to do. She voted for the Budget Plan that raised income tax on those under $50k and decreased the rate on those above $50k. She voted to ad sales tax to ancillary services, Cell Phones, Internet, and Cable …. even Tanning Bed Sessions and Gym/Spa memberships … and to ad the 911 fee to your power bill so that if you don’t have a landline to use the service, you still have to pay for it. She also voted to have your Voter Info included on your State ID which could definitely lead to discrimination in this Political Environment ….. She votes to take away services for the poor and elderly, steal money from our Rainy Day Fund, and spend it on a Commission to study the State Libraries and decide how to improve and fund them, a total waste of money in the Age of Internet Information. She votes against Alternative Medicine because her Husband is a Doctor ….. I could go on and on …….. Check yourselves District 31
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District 11 delegate Martin ” Rick” Atkinson needs to go ! He had a Meet and Talk in Spencer before session started, I ,ay or may not have started an event page and stacked the deck a little, but out of the 53 people who showed up 53 of us wanted legal cannabis, I told him I walked door to door with a petition in favor of legalizing cannabis and had 150+ signatures in about 2 hours and never left the neighborhood I was in. No joke 75-80% of the people I talked to want legal cannabis. It should have been very clear to him what his constitutes want but could care less .He voted NO on every cannabis bill the came down the pike, until he finally voted for the Shitt amendment. I am guessing he will try to say that he supported it in the end, but he sure ignored his voters until it was forced fed to him. Was kinda cool sitting across from him at his desk with the phone ringing off the hook [ I may or may not of made him a meme requesting calls for support]. I ask him if he needed to answer it and he says {No, you all won’t quit calling. It was very hard not to laugh. In the Meet and Talk meeting he said he would support it. He voted no on every cannabis bill not knowing if we would have another bill coming or not. He flat lied to the voters of Roane County.
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This comment from above struck me as pertinent. “ZINGER. R. We have to wonder if most folks thought they were voting for his father, and didn’t realize THIS Azinger would be giving religious rants on the floor!”
My opinion is that once in the legislature and especially if you have an (R) by your name, that the candidate will always win until they die or have garnered enough cash to retire to Florida. That’s my definition of the low information voter. Wonder why WV Sen. Shelley has always advertised the ‘Moore’ name? And I believe there are two more ‘Moores’ up and coming in the ranks.
Again, my opinion only but I would guess that if there were a campaign sign along a highway depicting a candidate in a red suit with pointy ears and a long red tail, that as long as it had “Family Values! I Support Guns! Global Warming is a Hoax!, Second Amendment Freedoms!” on it, that that candidate would win.
I am from Putnam County where two candidates went so far as to change their names to Ronald Reagan Foster and Nancy Reagan Foster and both won although when poor Nancy discovered that it was ‘hard work’ to drive to Charleston with the hoi-polloi, she resigned.
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Armistead. He holds any West Virginian who makes less than $100, 000 a year in utter contempt. He has little concern for the health and welfare of his constituents but you can bet he will be out there getting money like a hungry pup on a teat. Then he will do whatever his donors want. That’s how he rolls. He’s the head of this legislative monster and it needs to be decapitated.
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