Jim Justice declares victory Tuesday evening in the race to be West Virginia’s next governor at The Greenbrier resort, in White Sulphur Springs. Justice is optimistic on the transition to the Governor’s Office and on what his leadership could do for the state.
CHARLESTON, W.Va. — Optimistic as always, Gov.-elect Jim Justice said Wednesday that he’s putting together a transition team to set a course to “do good things for West Virginia.”
“We’re working diligently to put together the smartest and brightest transition team we can put together,” Justice said in a telephone interview. “I’m an impatient guy by nature, and I truly believe there’s endless opportunity right in front of us that we haven’t been able to capture before.”
Justice, the billionaire businessman with multiple holdings in mining, agriculture and tourism, defeated Senate President Bill Cole, R-Mercer, and a trio of third-party candidates Tuesday after a largely self-financed campaign.
One of the first challenges facing Justice when he takes office in January will be a 2016-17 state budget shortfall — a deficit he believes will be much smaller than projections of more than $250 million, thanks to a recent rebound in prices and worldwide demand for metallurgical coal used in steel production.
He said prices have jumped 60 percent to 70 percent in the past 120 days, adding, “I see a dramatic, a very dramatic increase in our severance taxes on coal.”
In fact, state Department of Revenue officials credited an upturn in coal prices and production for October severance tax collections of $9.6 million, which was 9 percent above projections for the month and more than six times higher than October 2015 collections.
Justice, who owns several mining companies, said he believes increases in metallurgical coal prices will also spur steam coal prices and production.
Justice said Wednesday that he believes the budget shortfall will be more in the neighborhood of $100 million — an amount he said could be managed with a short-term bridge loan.
“I don’t believe we need to jump out there and raise taxes and put another burden on people,” he said.
Justice said he is confident he can grow the state economy quickly — “All I need is 10 months,” he said — focusing on tourism, agriculture and energy.
“I’m really excited. I think West Virginia is right on the cusp of a lot of good stuff,” Justice said.
Justice said he plans to treat state government as he would any new business acquisition.
“I’ll do a top-to-bottom forensic study of all our assets and liabilities, and everything we’ve got,” he said.
He said that study should reveal enough wasteful spending and one-time funds to help balance the 2016-17 budget, reiterating that he believes further cuts in state government are not feasible.
“You can’t cut any more,” he said.
The Tomblin administration has cut state spending by more than $400 million a year to address ongoing budget deficits.
Justice, who changed his party registration to Democrat in 2015, said he is confident he will be able to work with the Republican-controlled Legislature.
“It doesn’t matter to me if you’re a Republican or a Democrat. All I want to do is good things for West Virginia,” he said. “I really believe the people want us to do good stuff, and the people want hope, and they want solutions.”
Tomblin intends to make the transition as smooth as possible, spokeswoman Jessica Tice said Wednesday.
“We’re already talking today with Gov.-elect Justice’s team about the transition process,” she said.
In preparation for the transition, staffers set up an office Wednesday near the Governor’s Office suite for use by the Justice transition team, she said.
Reach Phil Kabler at [email protected], 304-348-1220, or follow @PhilKabler on Twitter.
