Bill Cole Offers Voters A Plan To Move West Virginia Forward

Press Release

Viewers who watched last night's gubernatorial debate saw a strong contrast between two candidates. Bill Cole offered voters a clear plan to move West Virginia forward. Bill Cole opened the debate by challenging Jim Justice to get beyond slogans like "JOBS JOBS JOBS" and share his PLAN PLAN PLAN.

"Jim Justice couldn't name one thing he would cut in state government because he is running to protect the "good ole boy' system which has left our state last," said Cole for Governor Spokesman Kent Gates. "Jim Justice is so committed to the failed system of Joe Manchin, he doubled down on Senator Manchin's plan to develop broadband across West Virginia."

Regarding broadband Jim Justice said last night:

That's government's responsibility. We ought to be finding a way to deliver prosperity and jobs to our people.

As Bill Cole made clear last night, it is not the role of state government to build the middle-mile network for broadband. West Virginia failed to do that with federal stimulus money under then-Governor Joe Manchin. It is the job of the Governor to bring the private sector together to get the system built in the best interests of the state.

As reported in today's Charleston Gazette-Mail:

When asked about broadband infrastructure in the state, Justice said the state didn't need a type of broadband highway, commonly known as a middle-mile system. He said the state needed last-mile upgrades -- the short stretches of fiberoptic cable run to people's homes and businesses. That policy has been advocated by Frontier Communications, the state's largest internet company, which received millions of dollars in federal funding to build a middle-mile system in West Virginia, but failed to do so, according to allegations in an ongoing lawsuit.

The Charleston Gazette-Mail did an investigation into West Virginia wasting $41.5 million in federal stimulus money under then-Governor Joe Manchin to actually build a middle-mile network in the state. Now Jim Justice wants to give the same company more money because his political consultant and personal lobbyist Larry Puccio doubles as the lobbyist for Frontier.

"The fact is Frontier failed to complete the middle mile. Now Jim Justice wants to give millions more in state tax dollars to the same company to build the last-mile to connect to the middle-mile they never built in the first place," asserted Gates. "That might be good for Jim Justice and his corrupt consultant Larry Puccio, but it's a bad deal for West Virginia."

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