By CHARLIE BOOTHE
Bluefield Daily Telegraph
BLUEFIELD, W.Va. — State lawmakers from the area are not sure what to derive from Gov. Jim Justice’s switch from the Democratic Party to the GOP.
They were also caught off-guard by his announcement Thursday night at a Pres. Donald Trump rally in Huntington.
“I didn’t know anything about it,” said Del. Ed Evans (D-McDowell County). “It was a shock to me. I am disappointed.”
Evans said he has no idea why Justice made the switch, but it’s the Governor’s decision.
“It disappointed a lot of people who worked hard for him (to get elected last year) in the Democratic Party,” he said.
But Evans said the switch will most likely not in reality change anything.
“I don’t think it will make any difference at all,” he said. “He had an agenda and he wanted his things taken care of so he worked to get it done on both sides.”
Evans said that strategy will most likely not change, but some of the things he wanted were not going to pass anyway because both Democrats and Republicans opposed them.
“I think his heart is in the right place and he has the state’s best interest in mind,” he said. “All the things he wanted to do with jobs and roads, I am for it. It’s just the way he goes about it. I am grasping at straws as to why he made the decision. I just don’t know.”
Del. John Shott (R-Mercer County) said he doesn’t know either and is also not sure it will make any difference.
“It was a surprise,” he said. “I didn’t expect it. I hope this signals he wants more positive relations with the Legislature. But it’s not going to change my position (on the issues) at all.”
Shott said he will continue to support things that are in the best interest of the state and oppose those that he is convinced are not.
“The party affiliation is important during elections, but once we are elected, we are here to move the state forward,” he said. “After the election, we ought to be moving forward for the progress of the state.”
Shott said he could speculate why Justice made the move but he doesn’t know for sure and can’t see how it will benefit him.
For Del. Marty Gearheart (R-Mercer County), the change is welcome, if Justice is actually going to embrace the party’s platform.
“I think it’s wonderful he switched and I’m glad he came to the Republican Party,” he said. “But based on his actions and what he said (Thursday night when the announcement was made), his rhetoric didn’t reflect he was much of a Republican.”
Gearheart said the Governor says he now identifies with the Republican Party, “and I certainly welcome him to our philosophy of limited government and low taxation and hope he embraces it wholeheartedly. I also hope this is more than just a change in name only, and that he is truly interested in joining the Republican Legislature in changing the way our state government operates.”
Gearheart said there is a big difference between putting your name on a party registration form and being a member.
“I am hoping he will embrace the party platform,” he said. “But I can’t say I am not secure in that thought. I listened to what he said … he seems to think he would be a more effective governor as a Republican. I don’t understand that exactly.”
Gearheart said political parties define ideology and changing parties is “not like choosing teams for a football game.”
“Did his ideological viewpoints change?” he said. “I didn’t hear anything to reflect that. I don’t know what it means. It’s a little disconcerting.”
Gearheart said any change in political parties leaves him skeptical.
“I have always had a hitch in my step for people who change parties for political gain,” he said, adding that it means the politician may “wonder around as to whatever he thinks will serve him the best.”
Justice was a Republican until 2015, then switched to a Democrat before running for governor, a contest he won over Republican Bill Cole last year.
Gearheart also continues to question when the Governor is going to tell residents about how an upcoming bond referendum for roads will be paid off if it passes.
Using part of the money, about $140 million, from the recently enacted law to increase DMV fees and the tax on gasoline should be part of the plan, he said.
But he has expressed concern that, should the bond pass, there’s nothing preventing the Governor from coming before the Legislature in January and asking for more money to cover the bond issue because the current revenues are being used for maintenance and other activities.
“Now that the Governor has left the Democrat Party and joined the Republican ranks, I just want to be sure he acts according to the values we Republicans hold dear,” Gearheart said. “Specifically, Section 5-J of the State Party Platform states that Republicans are committed to, ‘Lowering the tax burden on West Virginia families and opposing any new taxes or increased taxes.’”
Time will tell, he said.
“Just as standing in a garage does not make one a car, saying you’re a Republican means nothing unless you act like one,” Gearheart said. “I certainly hope the Governor’s change of party affiliation is more than just a change on paper, and this is a perfect opportunity to clarify that he’s had a true change of heart. I look forward to his response.”
State Sen. Chandler Swope, R-6th District, said he doesn’t know either why Justice made the change.
“I was at the Trump rally,” he said. “It was an exciting and inspiring event.”
But Swope did not anticipate Justice’s plan.
“The Justice announcement was quite a surprise,” he said. “I don’t have a clue what the final outcome will be (of the change). But for every action there is a reaction.”
Swope was elected to the Senate last year in his first run for public office and said he is not a politician so he doesn’t know if the Governor’s decision makes political sense, and it’s not a concern.
“I don’t know how it will change how I work with the Governor,” he said. “It really doesn’t matter whether he has a D or an R on his door. It does not concern me at all.”
Swope said he was elected to do the right thing for the state and that is what he will do, regardless of the party affiliation of the Governor.
“I happen to agree with the majority of his (Justice’s) programs,” he said. “I don’t care who sponsors a bill. It’s not a Republican or Democrat bill. I will fight for the ones I agree with.”
Justice said during the announcement that “the Democrats walked away from me. I can’t help you any more being a Democrat governor.”
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