CHARLESTON, W.Va. — Gov. Jim Justice is a hard man to find these days.
Unions representing teachers and school service personnel announced Friday that they are continuing their walkout Monday; tensions are high between lawmakers who have been needling one another in floor speeches and debate alike. Meanwhile, Justice sightings have grown infrequent this year.
An actual attendance figure is tricky. His administration has denied a Freedom of Information Act request for his calendars and appointment books, citing security and deliberative process exemptions.
In an interview Friday, Justice did not directly answer questions regarding his whereabouts during the legislative session. When asked why his administration denied the public records request, he said it’s progress that matters, not attendance.
“I don’t look for gold stars for perfect attendance, I look for achievement,” he said. “And I’ll put my record up against any governor, any time, anywhere. If you want somebody to just sit here, you can get an inflatable doll and just sit here and everything. You want accomplishments of zero, you can get accomplishments of zero. I am not looking for that. I work more than any human being that you have ever known in your life. Every day, every single day, I work more than anybody you will ever know. And so I stand on my deeds. I don’t need to really give you my schedule for you to see that I’m working.” ….
See the FOIA request and read the entire article at https://www.wvgazettemail.com/news/legislative_session/justice-won-t-say-how-often-he-s-at-wv/article_23191eb9-5e30-522e-a846-ebedf68be3eb.html
Read more articles at https://www.wvgazettemail.com