Longtime West Virginia Delegate Bob Ashley, center, is sworn in as the new senator from the 3rd District by state Senate President Bill Cole, left, as Ashley’s eldest son, Ben, holds the Bible.
CHARLESTON, W.Va. — Delegate Bob Ashley was in the state’s capital for an interim session of the Legislature when he received a call from Gov. Earl Ray Tomblin at 1:20 p.m.
By 2:30, he was being sworn in as the newest state senator from the 3rd District.
“It was a whirlwind,” said Ashley, a Republican from Spencer who has spent 29 years in the House of Delegates.
Tomblin selected Ashley Tuesday from a trio of nominees submitted by the 3rd Senatorial District Republican Executive Committee as potential replacements for David Nohe, R-Wood, who stepped down Aug. 31 to accept the governor’s appointment to the West Virginia Parole Board. The other candidates were former Delegate, Wood County Commissioner and Parkersburg Police Chief Rick Modesitt and Angela Summers, a grassroots organizer from Wood County. They were among 15 people who applied for the vacancy.
“It’s a humbling experience,” Ashley said of being chosen. “There were some really good people. Some I knew; some I had heard about.”
Ashley was first elected to the House of Delegates in 1984, then re-elected six times. He won the seat again in 2000 and has been sent back by voters every two years since.
Although an experienced legislator, Ashley said he’ll have a few things to learn in his new position.
“I’m going to be learning a lot of new people and faces,” he said, referring to the larger area he’ll be representing.
However, Ashley said he’s worked well in the past with representatives of Wood and other counties, including Sen. Donna Boley, R-Pleasants, the other senator from District 3.
Ashley will occupy the seat to which he’s been appointed through December 2016. It will be on the ballot next year, and Ashley said he’s “looking at running” to complete the term to which Nohe was elected in 2014.
West Virginia Republican Party Chairman Conrad Lucas offered his congratulations to Ashley in an emailed statement Tuesday.
“We look forward to his conservative values and principles contributing to the important work that will be undertaken during the next legislative session,” he said. “Bob’s background in business and his experience in the state Legislature will be very valuable.”
State Senate President Bill Cole welcomed the state’s newest senator in a statement issued by the Senate.
“I’m incredibly thankful to the 3rd District Senatorial Committee for providing the governor with three outstanding candidates, and I appreciate the governor making his decision quickly,” he said. “We’ll miss Sen. Nohe greatly, but I feel confident that we have a great senator to carry on in his place to represent the residents of the 3rd District.”
Modesitt thanked the committee for nominating him and congratulated Ashley as well.
“While it is a loss of a seat for Wood County, I know Bob Ashley will do an outstanding job,” he said via email. “I have known Bob for many years, and he is a first-class guy in every way.”
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