Huntington’s three mayoral candidates and two West Virginia gubernatorial candidates laid out their platforms and visions to Marshall students and the Huntington community during a debate at the Brad D. Smith Center for Business and Innovation on Wednesday, Oct. 10.

The mayoral candidates included Republican Patrick Farrell, Democrat Jennifer Wheeler and Independent Jay Michaels. The gubernatorial candidates in attendance were Democrat Steve Williams and Constitution Party candidate S. Marshall Wilson. 

The first half of the event focused on the three mayoral candidates. Each candidate laid out their perspective on the greatest challenge facing the city of Huntington and how their first thirty days in office might address that challenge.

“The elephant in the room is obviously the drug epidemic, opioid crisis, the homelessness that we’re experiencing,” Michaels said. “It comes up at the top of every conversation. The problem I see with it is we have an inertia problem.” 

Michaels spent multiple years living in Los Angeles and went on to describe that Huntington faces similar problems that he’s seen at a much larger scale in that city and how his perspective could help deal with the problem.

Farrell agreed that homelessness and drugs were the biggest issues facing the city, and he also advocated for an approach focused on compassion for both the homeless and the Huntington community so that both could benefit. 

Farrell went on to describe solutions to the homelessness problem such as making sure there are enough homes to live in by working through the Housing Authority’s backlog; sharing data on homelessness between organizations and non-profits in the city; and working to keep rent prices low enough to afford.

“If you want to stop people from becoming homeless, keep them in their homes and find ways to do that, and that’s going to take real collaboration in a way that we’re not doing today,” Farrell said.

Wheeler added that homelessness is the issue she hears most from the people she speaks with; however, she mentioned that the city should start by continuing to do what it already does, such as using the Housing First model, a homelessness prevention strategy that emphasizes finding permanent housing for individuals as a top priority.

“I would have to say that we have to be creative and redefine what is a home,” Wheeler said, citing the use of shipping containers as a housing option in some cities. “Some efficiency-type apartment housing with a courtyard and shared amenities.”

Homelessness was a continuing topic throughout the debate, but the candidates were also able to discuss other aspects of their plan for the city, such as the relationship between Huntington and Marshall University.

Halfway through the event, the gubernatorial candidates replaced the mayoral candidates onstage and began their discussion. Williams opened the debate by describing how serving as Huntington’s mayor has helped qualify him for the position of governor. 

“What I want to talk about today is how we take these lessons we’ve learned in Huntington and be able to take them to the rest of the state of West Virginia,” Williams said. “’Cause the fact of the matter is, we’ve developed a swagger here that the rest of West Virginia needs to learn.”

Wilson’s side of the debate emphasized Constitutional principles and efficiency as his main priorities.

“My plan for the government of the state of West Virginia is to audit every single function,” Wilson said. “I will do whatever it takes. I will uphold and defend your individual natural rights according to the Declaration of Independence.”

Three other gubernatorial candidates were invited but declined to attend. They include Republican Patrick Morrisey, Libertarian Erika Kolenich and Mountain Party candidate Chase Linko-Looper. 

Huntington’s League of Women Voters hosted the debate. The league’s co-president, Martha Woodward, moderated alongside student moderator, Quinlin Sollars. 

This is the only confirmed debate between the Democratic and Constitution Party mayoral candidates, whereas Steve Williams and Patrick Morrisey are confirmed to be holding a live debate on Oct. 29 at 7 p.m.

Marshall University is the only voter-friendly certified campus in West Virginia, and the voter-friendly campus student staff helped organize and run the debate. 

Evan Green can be contacted at [email protected].