"Watershed Moment"
Press Release
This past Thursday when the Senate passed the repeal of prevailing wage and the House voted for Senate President Bill Cole's Workplace Freedom bill, it ended a contentious few weeks of debate in the Legislature. Senate President Cole described the actions as a "watershed moment" for our state. He went on to say, "it is an incredibly important time for West Virginia. If we're ever going to move forward, if we're going to quit talking about creating an environment that's conducive to job creators, to job growth, it's time we do somethings differently."
A strong majority of the elected legislators took bold actions to pass these measures in the face of resistance from the old-guard who pulled out every stop imaginable to block change. The Charleston Daily Mail editorial board put it best:
The naysayers claim both of these changes are wrong; that they will lower wages and hurt jobs. Have those naysayers not looked at West Virginia's current economic statistics? The state is lowest in hourly wages, has among the highest unemployment rates and has the lowest workforce participation rate in the country.
Talkline host Hoppy Kercheval today has an excellent commentary on the importance of the legislation and the impact it will have on the 2016 elections. He concluded:
So something will give this election cycle; either the Democrats will slow or reverse the recent trend or the Republicans will solidify West Virginia as a red state. The outcome has the potential of determining whether 2014 was an aberration or an indication of a historic shift in the state's political landscape. Whatever the results in November, February 4th will have served as a defining date for the winning and losing candidates, as well as the political direction of West Virginia.
The 2016 election will be a choice between moving West Virginia forward with a growing economy and more jobs, or allowing those who want to protect the failed policies of the past to return to power. The Cole for Governor campaign is already organizing for the Primary Election on May 10with volunteer phone calls and door knocks to talk directly to voters.
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