Justice offers a vision and a can-do attitude

Press Release

The West Virginia Democratic Party hit the seam when it attracted three highly qualified candidates for governor.

Booth Goodwin is an outstanding guy, an intelligent, practiced and measured prosecuting attorney who will study issues as deeply as anyone, identifying all relevant pieces of evidence before charting a course of action. He is a gentleman steeped in integrity who doesn't raise his voice but lets his substance do the talking.

Jeff Kessler is an old-school Democrat -- pragmatic, righteous and fiesty. He will call a spade a spade. He knows how the sausage gets made in the legislature and the political players, the panderers and the profiteers. We have witnessed and admired him on the Senate floor. He would command the governor's bully pulpit with equal parts first-pounding evangelism and a cutting wit that eviscerates the weak.

But none is better made for the moment than Jim Justice, the wealthy businessman and visionary from Greenbrier County who dreams big, recognizes a need for urgent action, and is on the phone daily with movers and shakers across the country and around the world.

Yes, he plays in big arenas. And he also stays humble. As The Register-Herald political reporter Pam Pritt wrote this past week about Justice: "He is plain-spoken, given to Appalachian metaphors like "18-carat dog mess' and homespun stories that explain, if not define, his love for West Virginia."

His home is modest and he still finds time to coach the very successful girls and boys high school basketball teams at Greenbrier East. And, yes, if elected governor, he pledges to remain on the bench. If there aren't enough hours in the day to get everything accomplished, Justice is fond of saying, then you need to work nights.

Justice is a dreamer and a doer and a tireless marketer of all things West Virginia. How big does he dream? He is building a championship level golf course atop a mountain with four of the biggest names ever in golf -- Nicklaus, Player, Palmer and Trevino -- and he dreams of bringing the U.S. Open to West Virginia. You'd be advised not to bet against the man.

As Pritt wrote in Justice's profile this past week, it's either go big or go home for Justice. And in our opinion, that's exactly what this state needs at this time: a calculating risk taker who has big, bold ideas and a proven track record.

In Justice's West Virginia, tourism plays a leading role. He points to the state's geographical advantage of being 600 miles from major population centers along the east coast. "I don't know why we can't have the next Dollywood here … we've got to think giant-sized."

State budget knives have done far too much damage to state services, especially to education, Justice believes. He favors a short-term fix to the budget, "a stopgap" that allows him just enough time "to find a way to grow revenue." He is a friend to neither tax hikes nor budget cuts.

How to get that done? Stay focused on curing the cancer.

In a sit-down conversation with The Register-Herald's editorial board, he called this past legislative session "tee-total crazy."

"I'm not a believer in passing a right to work law, and the reason I'm not in favor of that is just this … it's not addressing the cancer, it's not addressing the problem, it's just a bush. I'm not in favor of doing away with prevailing wage. For crying out loud, why do we need to just continue to take from our people?"

On the Religious Freedom Restoration Act, he said, "From a nuts and bolts standpoint, we see exactly what's happened in Indiana and North Carolina and (RFRA) would have been very damaging to our economy. We don't need to discriminate against anyone for how they feel, for their preference, for their beliefs or the way they are. We've got enough problems we don't need to be doin' that."

And while he would serve as motivator-in-chief, he might be underestimating political challenges ahead if he is elected governor. He believes Democrats and Republicans in Charleston, given "logical, sound, tested, vetted real proposals," will join hands and "run across the finish line together."

Good luck with that one, Mr. Justice.

But we think he is the candidate who senses the urgency of fixing our crumbling economy better than anyone. He is charting a business plan that cuts energy costs by centralizing electric generation at four billion-dollar coal burning hubs around the state, a plan he says would have industries locating here lickety-split.

"They'd run over top of us to get here," he said.

As Justice says, "We're in a real mess." He also points out that the state's image beyond its borders is in need of major repair.

We agree. And we think it's time the state get out in front of the economy and take advantage of all that West Virginia offers. We need someone who understands coal, who understand education, who understands tourism, who understands agriculture and who understands that we can't cut our way out of this mess.

That candidate is Jim Justice.

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