By Phil Kabler, The Charleston-Gazette
CHARLESTON, W.Va. — Readers of this newspaper probably have a good handle on the key issues facing the state: Deficiencies in public education; systemic underfunding of higher education; low workforce participation; insufficient quality job opportunities; the inability to retain college graduates; the need to attract new businesses and residents to the state in light of more than a decade of population decline; jail overcrowding; a foster care system in crisis, inadequate child care options; staffing shortages in public schools and in multiple state agencies; substandard highways; water, sewer and power infrastructure; food and/or health care deserts in many parts of the state; limited access to high speed internet; and the list goes on.
So what are our gubernatorial candidates focusing on?
Moore Capito is giving directions to California, Chris Miller is shooting things with what may or may not be an illegally modified firearm, and Patrick Morrisey is having anger management issues over President Biden.
(I can’t say that I’ve seen any Mac Warner television spots, but then I only watch about 2½ hours of local TV a week: 90 minutes of Sunday Morning, and for this purpose, the ingeniously named “60 Minutes.”)
If you’ve been following the gubernatorial campaigns leading up to the May 14 primary, you might well be convinced that the two most pressing issues in West Virginia are illegal immigration and what evidently is a burgeoning transgender population.
