Hague for WV Senate
–Change is Coming.
1. Economic Development. Economic Development is the #1 issue facing West Virginia. It is the cause of our population drain and the root cause of the opioid crisis. West Virginians simply don’t have the opportunity for high value employment that other areas of the country have. As such it is unconscionable for Legislators to spend time on ANY other issue. I will vote NO on any issue not directly related to economic development. I make a campaign pledge that I will vote No on any issue that does not directly relate to economic development. I define those as bringing in more capital from out of state, increasing business development in state, and education and workforce development. And I encourage all other Legislators to join me in this pledge. In normal times such issues might be a good use of Legislators time. But West Virginia is in crisis and it is high time a sense of urgency and expediency filled the halls in Charleston.
2. Big Ideas, Big Goals. I don’t think it’s acceptable for WV to be 49/50 in this nation. I don’t want to be 49th, or 45th, or even 40th. WV has the best people in the nation in terms of culture, hope, community spirit and all the other things that make a place “home”. What we lack are jobs. We lack economic opportunity. And we could have had this but we lacked the right leaders, leaders with the vision and the will to make it a reality. I imagine a WV where our youth don’t flee the state for greener pastures. I imagine a WV that is an innovator, where other states come to learn from us. I imagine a WV that LEADS the nation in job creation while still maintaining the values that make us a unique people—hope, community, generosity. I don’t think we have to settle for second best anymore. Not in our leadership, not in our economic prosperity. Tinkering around the edges is not going to work. We need wholesale, seismic changes. And that requires a brand new mindset and brand new leaders.
3. Accountability. WV already has many of the government systems in place for economic development. But they aren’t working. They are too disconnected and staffed with career bureaucrats with no incentive to change the system. And absolutely no one is concerned with efficiency. Combine them, streamline their functions, and have a small group of Legislators work with the agency heads to increase efficiency, destroy bureaucratic roadblocks, and get the job done. Government can work speedily – and right now WV needs its government to be an asset and a help, not a roadblock.
These are the big 3 issues that I will address in the Senate. Click on the Platform link above to see a full list of proposals, detailed discussions, everything you might need. And while there consider volunteering to help! This is not a campaign where “I” will be doing anything. “We” are what is necessary. And in order for WV to experience a system wide change WE need to all work together and insist on change. Change in our representatives, change in our laws, and change in the outcomes we expect. Politicians don’t rise to the challenge, they fall to the level of expectations the public has. And we need to demand better of those we select to represent us. Only then will true change happen.