As the gubernatorial race picks up, West Virginians around the state are pledging their loyalties to the Republican nominee, Bill Cole, or one of the three Democratic candidates.
Helping edge up his campaign, Democratic candidate Jim Justice was recently endorsed by the West Virginia Laborers’ District Council, according to a statement released Monday.
Gary Tillis business manager of the council, expressed the organizations support for Justice in the statement.
“Jim has a record of creating good paying jobs and finding new opportunities to put people to work,” Tillis said. “He can promote our state like no other, and gets that our hard-working people can meet any challenge.”
While the statement rings true that Justice is notorious for finding jobs, Tillis’ statement was not inclusive to the jobs created by Justice.
The billionaire businessman is notorious for generating jobs that yield personal revenue. While the Greenbrier is fully stocked with employee opportunities and continuous new ventures, what has Justice done for the rest of the state?
While Justice has proven a perfect face for press talks at the Greenbrier Classic and the NFL training camp, his resume should not include Governor of our state.
A brighter future for the state of West Virginia should include a governor who acknowledges current problems and solutions in our state and not possible ways of revenue.
The resort, golf tournament and NFL training camp are all shiny objects that distract us from Justice’s real qualifications for governorship. We can’t forget that when the West Virginia legislature struggled to pass a $1.50 increase in minimum wage, Justice was given a $25 million tax break.
Justice stated during the creation of the NFL training camp what West Virginia needed was tourism possibilities and kept his word by his lavish additions to the Greenbrier. But a question to Jim: what about the protection from fracking waste, the poverty levels of our state and literally anything else that doesn’t include one of your investments?
The resort and destinations Justice has created are a great getaway. However, the rest of West Virginia isn’t on a permanent vacation, and we need a governor who understands that.